Crazy School Eng
by Tori Aoshiro
Summary: Hetako Academy is an internationally famous boarding school where students are locked up for eight years. What mysteries await here? An italian who cannot get hurt? A freezing cold Russian? A Chinese with a lighter? Those teens are far from normal and eight years give plenty of time to get to know each other.
1. New school, new students

"Ve! Ve! _Fratello_! I can't find Pookie! He ran away!"

"Damn it, Feli. It's a fucking stuffed cat, remember. He can't run away, _fratello idioto_!"

"Ve… Then someone stole him! I'll never see my little Pookie again! Veeeeee…"

And Lovino was lucky enough to see his "fratello idioto" burst in tears, thinking he'll never see the little brown fabric cat he loved so much again. He watched him cry a while (at least three seconds) with a vague (and fake) concerned look, before launching yet another attack on the rebellious socks hiding under the bed. Oh, and they seemed to have found an ally.

"Feli, take your fucking cat back and stop whining, damn it!'

"Pookie!"

Feliciano literally jumped on the stuffed animal, relieved. His brother couldn't help but snicker at his childishness.

"He was so sick of your ass face he hid under the bed and hoped you wouldn't found him."

There! One crying idiot! Without paying any more attention to his twin, Lovino kept filling his suitcase, hopefully he'd be done before their father bursts into the room and panics, saying they were late, like every time they were moving. It had become a habit for the twins. Being late for the train, moving to a new town, studying in a new school, making new friends, and then leave again. Their father, Romulus Vargas, history teacher, was better at being fired than at teaching. Not that his students had bad grades. On the contrary. Some of his students had way too good grades, and usually without other merits than being pretty. He also might have a bad habit of drinking wine between classes. It usually ended up in being fired after a few months. So yeah, they moved a lot.

The two boys probably should have gone to live with their mother a long time ago. If she hadn't disappeared when they were children. "One morning, she was gone." Bitterly said their father, sometimes. Knowing his debauched tendencies even at that time, her reasons for leaving were more than obvious.

Lost in his sad thoughts, Lovino finally got his socks to surrender and to leave their safe. As for Feliciano, he was smiling again and was busy putting his last belongings in his suit case. Which means he was throwing them haphazardly on top of each other, hoping they'd fold themselves, before sitting on the bag to close it. His brother's method wasn't so different, except he was generously insulting the pile of clothes each time the zipper got stuck. Every five seconds.

When he was done, Feliciano took out the flyer his father had given him, about their new school. Normally, the twin should have attended 9th grade that year but, because of a miracle as improbable as unexplainable, Romulus had received a job offer from the prestigious Hetako Academy, an internationally famous school. With unprecedented teaching qualities and unique methods, a diploma from the school opened any kind of pathway for students. In addition to the history teacher job, Romulus had obtained a free enrolment for his two sons, for eight years of study. There was only one questionable point in this legendary place's rules…

" _Fratello_ … Why are students not allowed to leave the campus? Eight years without leaving, that's a really long time, ve…"

"Why would I know? I don't care..."

"Yeah, but it's weird…"

"As long as there is pizza, tomatoes and girls, it'll do. Besides, there is wifi and TV there, right?"

"Say, do you think I could get in a club, there?"

"Why? _Papà_ is probably going to get fired before the end of the trimester, so why bother?"

Feliciano made a disappointed pout. He had often hoped to get into an art or cooking club, but the occasional times he tried, he had to give up on them because he had to move again. He put the flyer away and pressed Pookie against his chest. Lovino was barely done with closing his bag, mostly using words like "Fuck! Close yourself, damn it, fucking suitcase!" when the twin's father barged into the room and exclaimed:

"Boys! Quick! We're…

"Late." Finished the older boy as he put on a pair of sneakers.

Feliciano already had his shoes on. He jumped on his bag and left, followed by his brother, under the gaze of their very surprised father who needed a second before joining them in the car.

The trip to Japan went pretty smoothly. The academy and campus were set near the town of Aomori, at the extreme north of the island of Honshû. However, since it was an international school, the main language used there was English, which bothered the twins who always hated that class. Even if they had very good speaking skills.

The plane trip went rather well, even though the brothers fought for the seat next to the window. Well, "fought"… Feliciano just took a punch on the head for sitting there and cried at Romano when he took his place. Nothing out of the ordinary.

They arrived half-way through the day, little after lunch (that had been served to them in the plane and barely made the three gourmets cry from lack of taste). Romulus payed a taxi to take them to the academy's door. The teacher and his two sons fell asleep before the car even left the airport, knocked off by the jet lag. The driver had to wake them up when they arrived at the doors. They had to walk for a few minutes before reaching the first building.

Suitcases in hand, the twins and their father entered the hall. The place was rather large and nice, with stairs, an elevator and a few benches. Signs were giving the direction of the different corridors. A door on the left was labelled "administration office". The three newcomers were wondering what to do when a woman walked through this very door.

She looked young, maybe a little above twenty-five years old. It was difficult to guess her origins. Her eyes were dark and almond shaped and her features seemed Asian. Her brown skin seemed South American, or African, which was invalidated by her slightly brownish blond hair that seemed too natural to be dyed. She was wearing a simple and elegant white dress that contrasted with her coffee-with-milk colored skin. When she saw the Italian trio lost in the hall, she immediately walked right up to them with a smile as dashing as her dress.

"Hello," she said to the little family's father with a high and melodious voice. "You are Mr. Vargas, aren't you? The new history teacher?"

"That's me," he confirmed with a flirtatious smile. "Romulus Vargas, enchanted to meet you."

He was far from above the young woman's charm, which she seemed well aware of. She reached out a friendly hand he shook with the side glance that had made so many fall for him.

"I am Luna Chrones, co-principle of the school." She answered with a nice yet neutral tone. "I am the one who has sent you our job offer."

A malicious smile draw itself on her face as she turned to the twins who were looking at her as if she was an angel. They obviously never saw a woman this beautiful, especially in a school.

"And you must be the two Vargas sons, aren't you?" She said with a soft look. "Lovino and Feliciano, right? I'm glad to meet you! I'll be one of your teachers, this year."

Was it because of how tired they were or because of the admiration they felt for this woman? Whatever the reason, the two brothers barely managed to produce a few words to answer. A cheerful "Ve!" for the first one smiling like an idiot, and an intimidated "Chigi!" for the second one blushing like a tomato. With a teacher like her, they might have a hard time focusing in class…

Luna didn't care and payed attention to their father again.

"Well, I see you've got your luggage with you. I would offer a visit of the school and it surroundings but the trip must have been exhausting. So I suggest I show you your rooms so you can rest for your first day, tomorrow. Sounds good?"

All three agreed and followed their guide, pushing the suitcases. She started by taking them to the third floor through the elevator and a long corridor before stopping in front of the last door on the right.

"This is your room, Mr. Vargas. You have a bed, a desk, a closet and a personal bathroom. You'll find, on the desk, your timetable, a copy of the school's rules, a map of the building and another one about the campus, as well as the contract you still have to sign. As I said, you are starting tomorrow. Which is why I'll ask you to hand me the signed contract at the administration office before the end of the day. It's not very long, it shouldn't take too much time to read. Do you have any questions?"

"Yes, I do" the teacher said as he sat on his new bed. "Would you come have a drink with me, tonight, when I'll be done with the paperwork?"

"No. Sorry."

After this short answer, she guided the twins down to the second floor, towards a door marked with the number 24. Unlike the teacher's dorms, the corridor was far from empty. Several teens, girls and boys, came and went into the different rooms, squeaking, laughing or grumbling. Lovino noticed, among others, an anxious androgynous Chinese guy fumbling in front of a door, a panda-shaped lighter in his hand, and Asian twins, Korean if he guessed the language of the words on their t-shirts correctly, who were fighting until an obviously American boy yelled at them to stop before going back where he came from laughing and talking with… the… void… Okay… Without noticing the brothers had started their fight again where it was stopped. The oldest of the two Italian brothers tried to make sense out of that scene he'd just witnessed. What. Was. This. Place?

Neither Luna nor Feliciano seemed to understand Lovino's struggle. The young woman with ambiguous origins opened the door they had stopped at, an inviting smile plastered on her face.

"This is your room, boys."

"Wait… OUR room?"

Luna seemed slightly confused at the eldest sudden anger.

"Yes, the student's rooms are double. They are the same during the entire stay so we always make sure members of the same family are placed together. Is there a problem, Lovino?"

According to his contrite face, yes, there was one.

"Ve! Fratello! We're going to stay together in the same room for eight years! Isn't this great?

"… Great, Feli… It's great… Yay…"

A huge vein was threatening to pop on his forehead. Luna didn't let it the time to do so and pushed the twins inside.

"It isn't as large as the teacher's rooms but you still both have a bed, a closet and a desk. The bathrooms are at the end of the corridor. We don't have cleaning service so you are to keep your space clean yourself. Just like your father, you both have two maps, a timetable and a copy of the rules. There are two uniforms in each closet, plus a change. You are to wear them during classes. However, they aren't necessary during week-ends, so make sure to wash them at those times. Classes will start tomorrow, at eight in the morning, in the theater outside the dorms, with a presentation of our school. I will bring you your meal, tonight, but the rest of the time, you will have to go eat at the cafeteria downstairs, right after the staircase. Questions?"

"Can we go and visit? Just to take a look," said Feliciano, dying to find a pizzeria on the campus.

Luna scratched the back of her head with unneeded discomfort.

"The preparations for tomorrow are keeping everyone on their toes, there are so many things to do and I'd rather if you organized your things before tonight. And rest, please? You'll see everything on Saturday, during the first year's the integration trip.

A skeptical "yeah…" and a disappointed "okay…" answered her demands. She waved goodbye and closed the door. Lovino immediately dropped himself on the left bed, without any consideration for the papers he had just crushed. His brother smiled as he sat on the other bed.

"Did you see how pretty she was? I wonder what class she teaches?"

"Probably latin."

"Ve? Why?"

"Pretty teachers always teach latin."

Feliciano opened his suitcase and took his stuffed cat he had put away before arriving at the airport. He hugged it, singing an Italian lullaby.

"I like this place." He declared after finishing the first verse.

"Don't get too comfortable," reminded his brother, face buried in his new pillow.

"But I'm sure _Papà_ won't get fired this time!"

"Believe it if you want…"

The youngest twin started getting his belongings out of his suitcase to throw them messily in his closet. His uniform was neatly folded, placed in evidence in the first drawer. Green pants, white shirt, brown tie, beige vest and dark blue jacket with the school's badge.

Seeing his brother's efforts, Lovino decided he wouldn't wait to do so as well. He got up and tried, cursing generously, to pick up the heavy bag in order to put it on his bed. Feliciano wanted to help him but, apparently, it insulted the Italian boy's virility to help him carry a simple suitcase. The eldest shoved away his brother who hit the closet in the process.

Then everything went in slow-motion. The twins looked up at the piece of furniture that wobbled once, twice, before slowly starting to fall toward the two boys. Feliciano briefly screamed and desperately protected his face. Lovino felt overwhelmed by terror, closed his eyes, braced for the impact… that didn't come. No pain, no hit. Barely an airflow on his left shoulder. However, what did come was his brother's slightly muffled panicked scream.

He opened his eyes and observed several things, one after the other. One : he was alive. Two : his suitcase had been torn away from his hands and was now on the ground. Three : his brother was calling for help, squished under the closet. Panicked, Lovino pushed the item away from Feliciano with all his might. The young Italian boy was whining, same as usual, but he didn't look hurt. Not even a bruise on his tan skin. A lucky break after such a hit.

The same lucky break that happened a little bit too much these days. In fact, for a while now, Lovino had noticed his brother, though still as clumsy as ever, barely got hurt anymore. Usually, the small Italian was covered in bumps and bruises and scratched from bumping into everything and piling up accidents. This actually hadn't changed. And yet, as surprising as it seems, it already had been a few months since he had last needed an ointment or a bandage. This obviously wasn't normal, they both knew it. This is why, as they did each time something like this happened, they looked at each other in the eyes and declared with an equal voice :

"Not a word about that to _Papà_."

* * *

Yao apprehensively pushed his room's door. Ivan, busy with making his bed, greeted him with one of those huge smiles he knew so well.

"Ah! Hi, Yao!"

"Hi…" answered the Chinese boy with a miserable expression.

He walked the three steps it took to get to his bed and dropped himself on the bare mattress, weariness and annoyance plastered on his face. The Russian boy, on the other side of the room, snickered at him.

"Well, my Yao-Yao? Tired before classes even begin?"

"It's your fault, Ivan. And stop calling me "Yao-Yao", aru!"

"Uh? My fault? Why?" the young purple-eyed man pretended to look offended.

"It's the third year I ask to change rooms, aru… And I'm still here…"

Without losing his amused smile, Ivan came and sat close to the head of the brunet who shivered from fear. Or maybe from the cold.

"Oh? Is my little Yao-Yao trying to leave me behind?"

"Wh… No! Well… Yes, but…"

"But you do know this room will be ours for all our school years. It isn't really nice of you to try and make the staff's job more complicated, da?"

Yao suddenly decided he was violating his vital space, rolled to the side and sat at the other end of the bed, as far as he could from the psychopathic Russian boy.

"I am just sick of sharing a room with a sadist like you so leave me alone this year, okay, aru?" he snapped.

His roomie obviously disliked his tone but the Chinese boy didn't care. The Russian boy's faucet was confiscated three days ago and he was unlikely to have found another one this fast. So he was relatively safe.

Ivan drew close, kolkoling threateningly.

"But you know I am only teasing, my little Yao-Yao!"

Scared, Yao took from his pocket the little panda-shaped lighter that never left him and pointed it at the other as if it was a weapon. From a normal person, this would have seemed stupid, but, since Yao was everything but "normal", Ivan stopped.

"Careful or I'll turn it on, aru!" threatened the Chinese boy.

"Yao, we both know that if you do this you'll set the room on fire so stop!"

"What do you think, I trained during the summer."

Ivan let out a small laugh and his fingers brushed past the object. The lighter was instantly covered by a thick layer of ice. Yao let go of it, vexed. The Russian boy condescendingly pet his head before grabbing his chin to get closer to him more easily.

"You never learn your lessons, do you, Yao-Yao?" he said in a sweet, soft and delightfully dangerous voice, their faces about four inches apart.

The shortest one opened wide eyes, his heart thumping in his chest. He slapped the hand away, got up, passed the door and ran through the corridor without any explanations whatsoever, followed by Ivan's surprised and slightly frustrated gaze. He ran to the nearest toilets and locked himself up in the first stall he saw. He was safe.

* * *

Peter didn't know what to expect from this new school. A lot of strange things had happened to him lately but this took the cake! Fortunately, Luna seemed really nice. She had guided him to his new room while advising him on how he should behave, what he should do before the first day, what was going to happen, etc…

She had left him in front of his door to go help calming down a Chinese boy that had just burst into the corridor like his butt was on fire. So he had gone inside, excited to see his new room. A room already occupied, actually.

"Oh, hi!" said the cheerful young boy as he was folding his clothes.

He seemed to be about fifteen. Not really tall, pale hair falling on large hazel eyes and a happy look plastered on his face. Peter immediately liked him.

"Hi!" he said, imitating his gleeful smile. "I'm Peter. How about you?"

"I'm Tino. You're a first year?"

"Yeah."

"Me too! That's incredible, they really have students of all ages, here!"

He jumped when he saw Peter's uneasy look and tried to take back his words.

"I didn't mean that you're small, uh! It's just that, well, you look a lot younger than I am and it's unusual to have a class with different ages. But don't worry! I know you must be smart enough to be here! Well, I mean…"

"When are the classes starting, already?" asked Peter to help his roomie out of his monologue.

"Eight in the morning!" Tino exclaimed, thankful.

The young Finnish boy had a gift for saying the wrong thing and struggling until he got help. For some reason, this was actually why his friends were always moved by his good will. Peter was probably going to become one soon. Tino quickly found a new conversation starter to get to know his tiny roomie.

* * *

"Take care of your belonging, alright? And if someone is bothering you, make sure to come and see me so I can help you. If you need anything, come get me and…"

"Big brother, our rooms are next to each other, you know? I'm just going to unpack."

Vash was interrupted in the flood of advice he was giving his sister since Luna had left them before their respective rooms. Lily was carefully listening and had always had a deep respect for her adoptive brother, but he was starting to get a little overprotective.

After some internal struggles, the Swiss boy managed to let the little blond girl go inside her room and opened the door of his own after a last look behind.

"Hello," he said to his new roomie.

A tense "k-konichiwa" replied. Vash scanned the stranger. It was a young boy about his age. Asian features, pale skin, raven hair stiff as a board falling upon dark inexpressive eyes. This quick inspection confirmed his thoughts: a pure Japanese guy.

Without further ado, the blond boy walked to the right bed, since his roomie had already settled on the left side of the room. The first thing he did upon opening his suitcase was take a large black tape roll in order to trace a distinct and precise border between the two halfs of the room. The brunet gave him an intrigued look before going back to folding his yukata.

"What's your name?" Vash said when he was done.

"I'm Honda Kiku," whispered the Asian boy, eyes down.

"I'm Vash. See that border? Please don't cross it."

Kiku agreed without bothering to ask what would happen if he did. He didn't want to socialize in the first place. Vash quickly put his things away in his closet, slipped the empty suitcase under his bed and hurried to his sister's room.

There, Lily had already become friends with Faustina, the young Brazilian girl she was sharing her room with. Both were laughing and sharing family stories when Vash burst in asking if everything was alright. Lily had to comfort her brother before he decided to interrogate the South American girl chuckling on her bed.

* * *

Toris didn't know what to expect, this day. For the first time since his arrival, two years ago, he was going to discover the perks of having a roommate. The Lithuanian boy had a bad feeling about it. From what he knew, his roomie would be blond, outgoing and loud, everything he wasn't. But hey, that wasn't a reason for him to be mean since the start. This is why he was waiting for him, sitting on his bed and staring at the door, mentally seeking the correct greeting. He was already the "communist bully's" punching ball. He didn't want to get on someone else's wrong side.

He jumped when the door suddenly opened, revealing a young blond gi… bo… uh… person, slightly smaller than him, with green eyes, dressed in tight red jeans and a white and loose shirt. It was impossible to guess if the newcomer was a boy or a girl. At least, until the moment their voice ringed out in the room with a beautiful:

"Like, hi!"

Toris finally had a confirmation: no, considering the slightly high yet masculine voice, there hadn't been any mistakes in the room attributions. With a relieved sigh, he spoke, praying not to stutter.

"Hello. I'm Toris, third year. I suppose you are my roomie? Glad to meet you. What's your name?"

"Like, I'm Feliks. Totally glad to see you! Where do I sleep?"

Toris pointed at the other bed, indifferent to the super-useful question since there were only two beds and he was currently sitting on his own. Well, everyone could ask dumb questions sometimes, right?

"I totally hope your last roommate didn't leave anything!"

"You're my first roommate, actually."

"Uh? Why is that? You're so lame nobody wants to live with you?"

"Uh, no." Said Toris, flustered. "It's just that the number of boys was odd those last two years, so I was alone."

"Well, you must like being alone…"

The brunet didn't answer, he just opened again the book he was reading before Feliks's arrival. The newcomer started getting his clothes out of his suitcase…s. Toris glanced at them and choked on his saliva when he saw a collection of both feminine and masculine clothing.

"The walls are, like, totally lame, here! Is there a paint store somewhere around? Like, pink would be nice! And a pony-club? And clothing stores? How about…"

The young boy sighed. I felt like those next six years would be very, very, very long…

* * *

Mei entered the room, dragging her suitcase behind her, nervous about who she was going to find behind the door. A young brown-haired girl with a huge flower-shaped hairclip welcomed her with open arms.

"Hi, roomie!" she exclaimed as soon as she saw the shy face of the new girl. "I'm Elizaveta, second year! How about you?"

"Mei, first year. Glad to meet you!" smiled the Asian girl.

She looked around the room. The right part was empty, clean, only waiting for her. The other half was clustered by mangas and diverse goodies and every square centimeter of wall was covered with posters featuring boys snuggling while more or less dressed. The Taiwanese girl's eyes widened at the sight as a spark lightened her gaze. Seeing this, Elizaveta smiled innocently as she asked.

"Do you like yaoi?"

Mei just nodded. The Hungarian girl threw a fit of laughter.

"I think we'll get along!"


	2. The day to play it cool

The cafeteria was crowded that Friday morning, official day one of classes at Hetako academy. The excited noises of talks was going nicely, and one had to elbow their way to move at a decent pace between the overwhelmed tables. Which didn't really bother Ludwig.

Aged sixteen, the German third year student already had a respectable height and a nice athletic look, perfect to fray his way in the screeching crowd of pupils and impress all the most daring out of getting on his nerves. Well, "all" obviously didn't include his brother who was wildly wiggling his arms from his table so that he'll come and sit next to him and the two pains in the neck he called his friends. Ludwig, in a theatrical overdone effort, looked away as if he hadn't seen anything and looked for another seat where he could lay down his tray and eat in peace, even if he had to go outside.

It was counting without the tenacity of the albino boy who appeared right in front of him and grasped his arm to bring him and sit him at his table, all of this under the very personal laughs of the trio. It was the first day, the new kids just arrived and all the students had been warned a week ahead so that they'll remember to look normal that day, Ludwig thus had no other choice than to endure the dumb authority of his beloved older brother.

"Well, Luddy? Have you gone blind since yesterday? Or do you don't like the company of your awesome bruder anymore?

"Neither, Gilbert," her sighed as he started eating his potatoes _sauté_. "I never liked your company. That's very different."

"Kesesesesese, my Lud' hates mornings! But I know you're just teasing, lil bro'!"

Since the lil bro wasn't answering, the albino focused again on his two friends who were munching on their breakfast while listening to the conversation in a not-really-discreet fashion.

"So, Nini? How's your girlfriend? Did you finally get a home run, this summer?"

Antonio choked on his tomato juice as Francis smiled mischievously, hidden behind his hot chocolate.

"Gigi! Rude! We'd said we won't talk about it while eating!"

"It's breakfast. It doesn't count. So?"

The Spanish rolled his eyes.

"Nothing new under the sun, mi Corazon," he grumbled as he scanned the table, five meters away, where said girlfriend was getting ecstatic about NC-16 pictures along with a hyperactive Hungarian girl.

"Seriously? You're still a virgin? That girl is your bitch! Tell her one word and she'll jump in your bed!"

"Honhonhon… _I_ know very well why you are taking so much time, my Nini… Honestly, that's cowardly from you…"

"Cici, it's already a pain to be you pal because we can't hide those things from you so no need to be a blabbermouth on top of it!"

"What? What? Dude, tell! We didn't see him in two months while living on the same floor, if he doesn't talk he's screwed!"

Francis giggled, Antonio suddenly felt like admiring the apple core he was munching on and Ludwig did a beautiful facepalm to show the he participated even if it didn't made him enthusiastic.

"Our little Nini is scared to hurt his gentle Bella when he'll tell her he isn't sure about his feelings for her. I actually understand. There is her psycho-crazy yaoist friend and her eighteen years old brother who already cannot stand him, so a vengeance would hurt…

Gilbert burst in laughter as the Spanish backed off into his chair.

"Wow dude, you're getting better… You probably looked for a while before finding out all of this…" the brunet grumbled as he exterminated the remains of his cereals at the bottom of his bowl.

"But do you love her or not?"

"Well I don't know, that's the problem! She's nice, super cute and all. I love it when she comes to see me when I sleep until ten AM to tell me she made me waffles with all her love. I love it when she cheers me up after I get bad grades. And I also loved the week-end we spent at the hot springs – you know? The ones the principal just opened in the mountains around the campus. And she loves tomatoes, like me, and…"

"Then what _is_ your problem, Tonio? You're the perfect couple, why are you hesitating?

"I don't know! That's why I feel bad! She's perfect and I'm being picky and I hate myself for this. I love that girl, but when I look at her I don't feel like doing her at all, you know? Not to mention that I can see how much she loves me and that if I tell her this I'll just break her heart…"

"Well dude, aren't you screwed. Besides, you're the only virgin in the group, now."

"I know, I know…"

"Honhonhon… You know I could take care of this real quick, _mon trésor à la tomate_?"

"No thanks, _mi amor perverso_."

"Gigi didn't mind my help, though…"

"I didn't need help, it's just that I am way too awesome for all those normal girls…

"Normal, uh… I don't think that's the word…"

"So, since none of them wanted to have something with you, you let your best bud pop your cherry."

"So eins : it's not that they didn't want my awesomeness, I didn't find one good enough for me. Zwei : I asked him and I was on top, he didn't "pop my cherry". And drei : Cici is really good at this, so shut up, virgin!"

"Thanks, Sweetie! It's all about training, you'll see."

"But I thought there was that pretty Hungarian that you liked, Elizaveta. She's Bella's best friend and since you keep clinging to her I thought that maybe…

"Me? Liking that violent yaoi-addicted feminist tomboy? I hope you're kidding, Nini! She's cute, okay… But… But…

"Dude, remember. First year here, you assured me that even if she already had a boyfriend she was your main target and it was only a question of days before she feel for you. Three months later, you burst into my room crying because she had rejected you for the fifty-sixth time since the beginning of your flirting."

"I can't always be this awesome, don't ask for the moon! Besides, I'm okay now, I'm over her!"

"That doesn't change the fact that you still don't have a girlfriend! Talk about glory…"

"Say, you cabaret-flirt! Okay, you had more than enough girlfriends, but never for more than a week. And I didn't mention that cute English boy you keep starring at during breaks…"

Francis frowned immediately.

"Stop kidding me with this, guys… Arthur is… Not like the others, that's all."

"You almost look in love when you say that, _mi amigo_!"

"Of course no, Nini. What are you saying? Francis Bonnefoy, greatest ladykiller of all history, in love for real? What a joke!"

And it was the French boy's turn to lay back in his seat as his two pals laughed their lungs out. Truth be told, he was afraid he was indeed in love with the pretty little English with large eyebrow. Even the thought that he could curse him didn't stop him. With his lonesome, slightly disdainful, rebel and – he had find this out later – intimately fragile personality, Arthur had fascinated him since their very first meeting, three years ago, on the first day of classes. Thinking he was purely hetero at that time, he hadn't really mind that thought and had just flirted with all the girls he could find… At thirteen year old, right!

That didn't mean Francis was totally indifferent to the young English. He had tried to be his friends, sitting next to him at the cafeteria, asking for his notes or offering to take him to the different school events. But as much as he tried to be nice, he had only got vexing words and cold gazes in return. It was like Arthur was allergic to his presence. Or any human presence, actually. He was always the last one to choose a partner in PE, categorically refused to attend any party or dance that were really common on the campus, and never let anyone outside of his family touch him. He was lonesome and a lot of pupils liked to mock him about it. But the French wasn't disgusted at all, he was actually quite intrigued. He seemed to have a secret to tell. A dark past? A psychological issue? Something else? It didn't mattered, he was dying to know.

This desire turned into a dare when Francis discovered he was attracted to males. Arthur was the only person, up to this day, who could resist his flirting technics. And you know what they say : "you always want what you can't have". The English was out of his reach, yet he attracted more and more the playboy that was the young French. As for a revenge, he flirted more and more like a real Don Juan. But nothing seemed able to move Francis's heart anymore, except for the cold gaze of his favorite English. Since then, he only admired him from afar and constantly teased him, which was the only way he could think of to get his mysterious Arthur to notice him…

His two besties knew this, even though he never clearly admitted it. And even though they teased him about it, they'd never go much further in their friend's feelings. Which is why, once they were done laughing, Gilbert quickly oriented the conversation on something less delicate than his pal's sentimental state.

"What about you, Luddy? Will my little bruder loose his virginity, this year?"

The "little bruder" didn't answer as he was busy pretending he didn't hear anything. He was hurrying to eat his breakfast, hoping he could escape the albino's predictions about his love future. Said albino didn't like his silence and kept speaking.

"Come on, you're not gonna tell me you don't like anyone, in the entire school, even just a little? Look, there are all the new kids and some of them are really cute!"

"You know very well that's not the problem," Ludwig grumbled, glancing unsurely at the "newbie corner", the three tables on the left of the water fountain.

All the first years were gathered there, under the vigilant yet discreet gaze of professors standing around. The tall blond noticed auburn twins looking away from him, a feminine presenting though sexually undetermined creature and a little boy who had probably skipped several grades to be there.

"Then what is the problem?" Gilbert said to draw his brother's attention back. "Don't tell me you still hope to find that girl?"

"I never said…"

"Oh please, stop it." The albino interrupted him, rolling his eyes. "I do know you want to see her again. I told you : she lives in Italy. We don't know her name or address and all you got from her is a vague memory that passed through your amnesia crisis and a picture you took in primary school during a carnival. That kid was seven! She must be the double now. You have more chances to win the lottery than to meet her again!"

When Ludwig stood up from the table to put his plate to wash, Gilbert understood he had gone too far. But he wouldn't apologize. That would have meant he was wrong and he was way to awesome to be wrong!

But why was his brother this sensitive about this one memory from before his accident?

* * *

"Alright, let's recap the club's goals for this year."

Bella nodded, more focused on the list the Hungarian and she had just finished than on the sugared waffles going cold on her plate. The cafeteria's constant brouhaha was the perfect cover against anyone trying to listen to their conversation. The situation was dead serious.

"One : make sure no one is alone during February Bal."

"Okay," the Belgian confirmed.

Last year wasn't a catastrophe since most people had had the nerve to dance with someone. But the time, the unadmitted goal was to make long-term couples. February Bal was the best time to check the advancement of their different projects and to make priorities for the end of the year.

"Two : find someone for Ludwig, Alfred, Toris, Berwald and Rachelle."

"Okay," the pretty blond said again.

Five persons to set up. For a year, that was reasonable. The too numerous attempts from last year had been literal fiascos. You just had to see how they messed up trying to set up the "adorable shy shota" (alias Raivis) with a really nice last year guys that wasn't quite fond of their work. This time, they needed to take the time to evaluate the situation before their matchmaking plans.

"Three : opening Arthur, Yao, Gilbert, Heracles, Sadiq, Lukas and Emil's eyes on their love situation."

"Okay."

Saying some people in the academy weren't honest about their feeling was a euphemism. The seven chosen persons were only priorities. Sometimes, Bella felt like she and her friends from the club were the only ones able to see who loved who. The girls trained for hours to gain some tact and try to prove the students they had feelings for someone, or the other way around.

"Four : stay away from the psycho-trio."

"Okay," cringed the Belgian.

Last year, they had tried to found someone for the two sisters of Ivan, the biggest bully of the school. It hadn't really worked… long story short, they ended up with death threats from the Russian giant if they "didn't leave his two innocent sisters alone". When Ivan threatens, he's not kidding, so they didn't insist.

"And last but not least : take as many pictures of the new couples as we can!"

"Double-okay!" smiled Bella.

Now they were talking! The club's photo-album was way, way too empty for their taste. This years, they would have to surpass themselves to immortalize the best moments between the lovers! Besides, a former member that had finished her studies last year had send them some material that will definitely help…

"Say, Bella, can I add a sixth entry?"

"Hum? And what would that be? Talk Berwald into helping us in the shipping?"

The Belgian smiled as she thought about it. The Swedish student, though scary, could really be a great help with his… abilities. They had even asked him several times for some advice last year but he had sent them away saying they should find a way themselves. Or at least that's what they had understood from his unarticulated gibberish…

"Oh, right, there's that too!" exclaimed the Hungarian. "But that's not exactly what I want to talk about."

"Then what?

Elizaveta paused, slightly unsure.

"Well… You know… I was thinking we should do something about the situation between you and Antonio…"

"Oh… Yeah, there's that too, it's true… But it's fine, nothing urgent…"

"Bella…"

"It's fine, really, Eliza! I can manage…" she paused, thinking. "… Yeah, no, actually you're right, I do need some advice."

"See! Ok, so… We'll find something but it depends on what you want."

"Yeah, well I'd like to know what I want too… It's crazy, I love him, I know it but… I don't know…"

The beautiful brown-haired Hungarian scratched her chin with a focused face, sign she was thinking seriously. That sat in silence for a few seconds.

"… Have you tried turning him on?"

"Not that loud!" the blond hissed, panicked. "Of course I tried, what do you think? We were at the hot springs for two days during the summer vacations. See what I mean? Him, I, almost naked in hot water, beautiful scenery, a few clever suggestions when I was in his arms…"

"Well?"

"Nothing. He was as sensitive as a brick wall. I think he didn't even get my hints. And before you ask, no, I wasn't "too subtle". Not at all. I was talking like a whore, I'll never do it again, it's way too embarrassing!"

"… Well maybe he's just in the closet. That wouldn't surprise me."

"E-EH? Are you serious? Him?"

"I don't wanna hurt you, Bella, you know me. But you have to admit it's kinda suspicious. It would explain a lot… Try imagining for a second."

Bella closed her eyes. She imagined her Spanish boyfriend, his body hot as ember, his tender and loving eyes, giving his passion to another boy, a cute uke a bit wimpy but not too much, kissing him, cradling him, drowning him in the heat nailed into his body by the Spanish sun… Her heart stung a little but the mental show was… How to say that… captivating. She bit her lips without opening her eyes. True, her boyfriend would be such a great seme… If he actually had that kind of interests… It was still possible, after all, and it would be like him not to realize it…

"Raaaaah, it's so complicated!" she complained as she opened her eyes over her best friend. "You're so lucky! How did you found one that is nice, intelligent, polite, loving, good at music, with a rich-ass family… Actually, he's perfect! Seriously, where did you get him?"

"That's a secret, sweetie," Elizaveta laughed. "And he's nit that perfect. But almost! And loyal with that, you'd see how I caught Sophie hitting on him the other day! He didn't have a reaction! But I yelled at Sophie, she won't do it again, that's for sure!"

They shared a smile as the bell rang. The speakers resonated with the principal's deep voice, ordering to all the students to go to the amphitheater for the information reunion. They glanced at the newbie corner as they left. The show would probably be amusing…

* * *

Tino swore for the third time since he'd left the cafeteria. Of course! Of course he could found his way to the dorms to get pens! Of course he could find his way back to the amphitheater after this! Of course… not!

Long story short, the young Finnish boy was lost. Not only did he not have his pencil case, but he was also late for the information reunion planned this morning. No better way to start a school year. Panicked and annoyed, he was running in the corridors, hoping to find another latecomer like him who'd show him the way. He turned left, right, took two stairs, went back, turned again… and that's when drama came. A concrete wall had suddenly had the brilliant idea to place itself in front of him. Or at least, that's the only possible explanation that came to Tino's mind when he was violently thrown on the ground, his two notebooks slipping out of his bag.

He sat up and had to wait till he gained back the slightest sense of balance in order to glare at the obstacle that had placed itself on his way. He immediately regretted it. He didn't actually hit a concrete wall like he thought. He had simply ran into a blond giant carved in stone with a face that could freeze your veins. A real scaring-machine with a furious ice-colored gaze, outlined by thin glasses. In other words, he had hit the person he shouldn't have.

The man was staring at him and Tino wasn't at ease at all. He would have said something to apologize but those freezing blue eyes were petrifying. After a moment that seemed like an eternity, the giant squatted down to him, diving even deeper into the brown and frightened eyes of the Finnish boy who had no idea what to do. He tried to calm down the frenetic pulse of his heart he found way too loud at the moment. Don't move, don't panic. It's like a bee : if you stay still, there is no reason for it to come and sting you. At least, in theory.

Slowly, the stranger's unmoved face changed into an expression of… surprise? His eyes widened slowly, his eyebrows raised on his forehead, his jaw almost dropped. Seeing this, Tino kinda wondered if he had something on his face to draw so much attention from this man, but he didn't have the time to ask the question. The stranger stood up and took his hand to help him back on his feet before bending down to pick up the two notebooks on the ground.

"Th-thanks…" Tino stuttered when he took them back. He quickly put them back in his bag, under the once again unmoved gaze of the giant blond. And, when he realized he had the ability of speech again, he added : "I'm so sorry I ran into you! I wasn't looking where I was going and I was in a hurry and I dodn't know you were there. I should have been more careful, besides, you're not easy to miss! I, I mean, I don't mean you're… Well…"

"We're late."

Tino suddenly stopped. Not to mention the fact he was hearing that man's voice for the first time and honestly it was as deep as he was scary, but the giant just had brought up something that made him panic on the spot. "Shoot! You're right! The amphitheater! I have no idea where…"

"C'me."

Without another word, the stranger took him by the hand and guided him through the corridor. He was walking fast and seemed to know where he was going. Tino had some trouble following him but his guide's huge hand was pulling him forward with a surprising gentleness, considering its size. Looking at his clothes, the Finnish boy realized he was wearing the school's uniform. So he was actually a student? How old was he? Well, he wasn't going to stop and question him… But still! He looked like and adult! A last year, maybe? Yeah, probably. Definitely.

They git down to the first floor and left the dorms. Tino bit his lips when he remembered Luna saying the amphitheater was outside. They walked for a few minutes before Tino sa a few students entering a building that vaguely looked like a gym from afar. They quickly entered.

The amphitheater was probably the most impressive place of the academy. The large room, inside, was circular and divided in two halves : a scene that prolonged itself to the middle of the room and was completed by curtains and a hidden backstage, and bleachers divided by stairs in nine different sections. Obviously, the eight first corresponded to the eight classes of the academy while the last one was reserved for the teachers.

Tino felt uneasy, and a few gazes on him, more precisely on the hand his makeshift guide was still holding in his. He wanted to ask him to let go but he was cut short once again :

"Yo'r n'w?"

"Uh… Yeah, I'm a first year."

"I'm a th'rd year. Yo' n'me's Tino, right?"

"Yeah, but how…"

"I'm Berwald. And yo'r my w'fe now. See yo' l'ter."

Then he let him go and went to sit in the third section, right next to a guys with spiky hair who greeted him with a large smile and a friendly punch. As for Tino, he stood there for a few moments, stunned. That guys he'd just met had he really called him his "wife"? Uh? What did that mean? Did he think he was a girl? Now, he was dressed as a boy. Then maybe he didn't understand? That wouldn't be surprising since the other mispronounced everything. But then, what did he mean? He kept trying but couldn't think of an explanation for his strange behavior. After a few moments, he ended up going to sit in the first section, right next to little Peter he shared his room with.

Since the reunion still hadn't begun yet, Tino allowed himself to quickly analyze his class's students. He quickly realized there was quite few of them. There was roughly a dozen of pupils in each section, and the last year was the largest group, probably because of the ones repeating their year. He noticed a blond brother and his sister at the front row. The boy was literally looking daggers at anyone who dared to look seeming to appear having the idea to try and sit next to them. Further, near the middle, auburn twins were making a scene. From what Tino understood, one of them had had the nerve to come sit next to the other and was now being yelled at by his brother. He ended up leaving, head down, and went looking for the company of a short Asian boy playing statues two rows lower. He seemed to seriously view the option of running away screaming but held back his urge and stayed put when the unwanted mate started babbling next to him. Finally, there were three girls, a blond and two brunets, chattering in the back row.

The Finnish boy couldn't pursue his observations. Luna had just entered the scene. For that occasion, she was dressed in a strict and serious night blue outfit. She tapped her microphone to catch the attention of the numerous students talking on the bleachers. Since that didn't work, she asked for some silence, once, twice, three times, before letting out a discouraged sigh. She ended up sending a pleading looking to a third year boy, a blond and muscular guys who was among the only ones that weren't talking. He nodded knowingly, stood up, opened his mouth and…

"SHUT UP, EVERYONE! THE CO-PRINCIPLE TRIED TO SPEAK THREE TIMES JUST NOW SO SHUT IT AND LISTEN YOU GRUBS!"

His scream was so loud the walls of the amphitheater shook. Most of the students felt their ears hiss and some of them shrieked in terror. The announcement had the expected effect, no one tried to speak after this. Luna cleared her throat before she spoke.

Thanks for your help, Ludwig. Everyone, I'd like you to remember this for once. It's the same thing every years, it's getting old.

The targeted students (well, most of them), apologetically rubbed the back of their head.

"Well, anyways, students of all classes, welcome for another year at Hetako academy!

Two or three claps happened and vanished almost immediately. Luna kept speaking, embarrassed with the way things had turned out.

"Uh, yeah, so… For those with a short memory, I'm Luna Chrones, do-principal of the school. I'm also the PDC teacher of each class. Hands down, keep your question for later, please."

For hands feel at the same time. The others stayed in the air for a bit before falling as well. Luna kept going.

"In order to inform the new kids," she gave the first section a large and warm smile, "I'll start by presenting our school and the rules to follow here. After this reunion, you'll be free to go have lunch with your new classmates, then you'll spend two hours with your teachers that I'm going to introduce to you right now."

She paused for a bit before calling every teacher, one by one, telling their name and class as they joined her on the stage.

Mrs. Kirkland was the English teacher. She was the second year's main teacher, which she seemed satisfied of. Of average age with a few wrinkles, she had charming green eyes and shiny reddish-blond hair kept in a bun. Her face was serious, slightly closed, but kept a certain malice in her expressions.

Mr. Beilschmidt, second to be called, was the geography and main teacher of the third years. His hair were of a platinum blond and fell, straight, behind the back of his neck. He didn't have the slightest expression on his pale face, apart from some sort of annoyance. Obviously, he wasn't thrilled by the reunion. When he arrived on stage, a clever boy from fourth year thought it'd be really funny to yell something in German, which the teacher didn't answer to.

Mrs. Bonnefoy, literature teacher, was third to be called. She was the main teacher to the fourth years and obviously took this role to heart for she glared severely at the comedian who brought attention on him a few moments before. Apart from that, she had extremely soft features, though confident. Her ash blond hair brushed her back, held together by a brown hair band.

It was then the math teacher Mrs. Hassan's turn to enter the stage. The young Egyptian woman was the fifth year's main teacher. She had as little reaction as Mr. Beilschmidt and just scanned the room, sighing.

Mr. Bondvik, fifth to be called, was the biology and geology teacher and mained the sixth years. He was walking carefully, a file pressed against his chest. When he took his place, he gently smiled to the crowd. He had white skin and very pale hair that looked almost grey in the electric light.

The next one, Mr. Carriedo, who was teaching physics and chemistry, was his complete opposite. He proudly walked onto the stage with the confident smile of the one who like to be the center of attention plastered on his lips. He was the main teacher for the seventh years. His medium lengthen brown and messy hair and his tan skin made him look younger than he actually was. He greeted the students with large signs before taking place with the other teachers, blasé of his attitude.

Mrs. Karpusi, seventh on the list, taught philosophy and took care of the last year's class. She had, on her face, the kindness of Mrs. Bonnefoy and the mystery of Mrs. Hassan. She waved hello at the students, gazing at them with her beautiful green doe eyes. Her brown curly hair was nicely kept in a low ponytail.

Mr. Edervari, PE teacher with no assigned class, jumped on stage with an amused spark in his eyes. Everything in him, from his short brown hair kept by a bow behind his neck to his proud and arrogant posture defied anyone to measure up to him. It was obvious he'd expect a lot from his students.

Finally, Mrs Jones was teaching music and art and didn't have an assigned class either. The dark-skinned black-haired woman looked like she had just left a native American reserve. However, she spoke perfect English.

"And finally" finished Luna. "Let me introduce you to our new history teacher who'll replace miss Tyr from now on and will be the first year's main teacher. My dear student, this is Mr. Vargas."

Romulus climbed onto the stage winking at his sons and went to stand next to his peers.

After a few more moments of rest, the co-principle spoke again with an even larger smile.

"Well, now that the introductions are over, let me explain to you, dear new students who just got here, why you are here."

An amused whisper ran through the crowd, except for the new kids. Luna waited for things to calm down before she kept going.

"There are many things you don't know about this place. Actually, Mr. Vargas doesn't know more than you do on that matter."

An offended "What?" was followed by a few laughs.

"You may not know it yet but we have, here, a really specific selection criteria. You are not here because of money, nor thanks to your grades. If you are here, it means something in you is different from all the other people your age. And you are here so we can discover what this talent is…"


	3. As if it wasn't bad enough

Her statement was followed by a long silence on the new kids' part. They either didn't understand what the co-principal was trying to say, or they knew and were choosing to keep quiet. Luna waited for a few seconds, letting the information sink in, before she kept going:

"Every student here has one, or several abilities you could qualify as "supernatural". I know it seems crazy, but this is how things are. Those abilities generally show themselves around puberty, which is why we have created this boarding school, to help you live with it since, if misused, those abilities can be as dangerous for you as they'd be for others. I'm certain some of you have noticed strange things around them these days. Would one of you wish to talk about it?"

Nobody moved and Luna sighed. Every year, she hoped for a volunteer among the new kids, and every year, nobody would help. Eventually, she turned to the rest of the students and a hand raised before she even opened her mouth.

"Me! Me! I'm the hero! I'll show them!"

"No, thank you Alfred but we'll let someone else do it, alright?"

Said Alfred pouted and Luna scanned the rest of the students. She knew the American wanted well but he was notorious for overdoing everything, and she didn't want to spend more money on reparations. The choice was difficult. She needed something visual, impressive enough for them to understand how far it could go…

"Gilbert! Since you want to get some attention, show us what you can do!"

An albino from fourth year (the same that had yelled something in German ten minutes earlier), sitting in the last row between a blond guy and a brunet, openly grinning, stood up saying with a loud voice that the "AWESOME GILBERT" was going to show the wideness of his power. He closed his eyes and suddenly… Disappeared.

There was a silence.

And the ten students from first year screamed from panic altogether when they saw him reappearing on stage. Satisfied, Gilbert bowed to the crowd and winked at his two friends. And the show wasn't over.

The albino's skin grew puffy white fur in a few seconds. His eyes darkened, his ears grew longer, his bones morphed quickly and, a few seconds later, it wasn't a young boy standing on stage but a tall white wolf that howled the most courageous into fear. Scared cries bounced off the first year section as all the other students cheered for their classmate. Luna waited for the noise to settle down a little before speaking again.

"Thank you, Gilbert, you impressed them well. You can go sit."

From the tone she had used, it was more of an order than a permission. The wolf looked at her for a few moments in the eye before turning back and walking back to his friends who congratulated him with a pat in the back. Luna turned to the new kids who now all seemed absolutely terrified.

"Well, after this beautiful act, what can I say? Don't worry, all "powers" aren't as spectacular. Some or more mental. You all have at least one of these abilities in you.

A long silence followed. The first year students looked down in the dumps. One of the girls even seemed as if she was going to burst into tears. Luna never liked that part of the meeting. Last year, a little Latvian guy shaking at the mere thought of entering an international school had simply fainted when he heard about the school's true nature. She knew learning their abilities all at once was very scary for the new kids. This was one of the reasons why she explained in presence of the entire school. They needed to feel surrounded, to understand they were many to share this particularity.

Luna waited for one or two more minutes until the most shaken were a bit calmer. The other classes were growing impatient but she didn't care. She scanned the first year section and her gaze stopped on the Asian statue.

"Say, you? Do you like origami?"

"I do like it a lot, Luna-sensei," he answered politely, more or less hiding how embarrassed he was.

"Call me Luna. Say, do you make a lot of them?"

"Y-yes, Luna-sen… Luna."

"Ah, and do they seem… different to you, these days?"

He gazed at here for a while before reaching down into his pocket and taking out a tiny origami frog. He barely had it in hand that it started to jump by itself on his knees and shoulders. Luna saw this display with a little smile as all the other students and teachers struggled on their seats to see what was happening.

"It's been like this for three weeks now," the boy explained with a hint of worry in his voice. "I was on the computer, and it started to jump to me."

The Italian boy next to him threw a fit of laughter, claiming it was adorable and very nicely done. As if it had heard him, the frog climbed on his head and everybody laughed.

"Have you tried to control it?" Luna asked.

"Uh… Well uh… I…"

And the Japanese boy started an inaudible ramble as if talking with himself. He obviously hated talking in front of everyone, moreover explaining whether or not he had tried to control a frog-shaped piece of folded paper. Not to mention at that time, he thought it was cursed or something, not that it moved thanks, or rather because of him.

Luna winked at him.

"Try communicating what you want from it without words."

After a moment of doubt, the Japanese boy held out his hand for the origami bouncing on his neighbor's head. The frog docilely came in his palm and calmed down. The other students from the first section were fighting to see the little miracle. Embarrassed by so much attention, the boy put his creation back in his pocket and slipped back into his statue-sona. In the meantime, Luna had walked towards the little boy sitting next to Tino, the one that didn't seem older than seven of eight.

"Peter, right?" she said.

"Yeah?"

"How old are you?"

"T-thirteen, miss."

Half the students shouted from surprise. The other half burst into laughter, thinking it was a joke. Peter blushed shamefully and retreated into his chair.

"Why do you look so young?

"I… I don't know…"

Luna was staring at him, silently inviting him to continue.

"Last year, I woke up like this. And I… don't know how to go back to normal.

Peter looked about to cry and Tino, right next to him, didn't resist more than three seconds before throwing his arms around him and hugging him close to comfort him. The little one didn't move away. Luna compassionately ruffled his hair before walking back on stage to finish the meeting.

"See? Everyone here has one or several "powers". Some of you probably haven't even noticed yet. For those of you in this case, do not worry. You'll very soon find out what makes you so special."

She let them a few seconds to meditate on this as the rest of the assembly was waiting, more or less patiently.

"This is the purpose of the CDP class: Control and Development of Powers. I'll be there at every step to help you live with your waking abilities. If you have questions, I'm all ears."

Several hands raised among the new kids.

"Why is the school closed from the outside?" said a brunet in the last row.

"Ah, here's someone who reads the pamphlets! That's because, around puberty, most powers are instable and uncontrollable. They can be triggered by the slightest fit of emotion and this can be very dangerous. That is why it is forbidden to leave the school until the end of your curriculum. We may organize trips, from times to times, for the ones most able to control themselves, but generally, we are separated from the rest of the world. However, the campus includes many structures that compare to a real city! There are shops, cafes, a cinema, a ballroom, a theater and even a thermal station in the mountain, not far."

"There are people in this town?" said the talkative Italian.

"Yes, mostly former students who chose to stay after the end of their curriculum."

"So… everyone inside the campus has a power?" shyly asked the blond girl sitting next to her brother.

"Yes, even teachers."

"What about you, miss? Like, what's your power?"

Luna want quiet for a second. She tried to choose her words wisely. Most students needed time to understand the complexity of some abilities.

"I am a detector." She finally said. "I know who has a power and what it does. By the way, Feliks, would you mind telling me why you are wearing this?"

Everybody turned to Feliks most had confused for a girl because of the feminine uniform he was wearing. Some laughed.

"The boys' uniform is, like, totally not cute!"

"Never mind, we'll talk about it later."

She sighed, checked nobody was raising their hand anymore, took a look at the notes she had prepared and continued:

"So that's that for our school's presentation. I am now going to present the few life rules you'll have to follow here, so that the new ones are aware and the regulars' memories are refreshed.

A bored sigh ran through the amphitheater.

"I know, I know, trust me, nobody likes that but that's how things are. Now please listen, kids." She smiled.

Silence settled. Everyone was at least trying to pretend they were listening, and everything stayed calm. Many took out their phones to pass the time.

"Alright. First rule: it is absolutely forbidden to use your power to hurt someone. This applies to the entire campus and even outside the school. If you want to fight, please do it the old way, preferably where there will be no casualties, thank you. The best would be not to fight at all, but we are realistic, here."

She gave a warning glare to a fifth year student, a tall guy with hair so pale it seemed grey, and sitting between two girls that appeared to be his sisters. He replied with an innocent smile, meaning _you can look at me like that as much as you want, it won't change anything_.

"Second rule!" she continued. "No drugs, alcohol, cigarettes, or weapons allowed, no exception. Ivan, put your hand down. Yes, object you can hit people with are considered weapons, faucet included. And no, for the last to, neither you nor your sister will get the pick or knife back, am I clear?"

She sighed tiredly when the student she was talking to, Ivan apparently, lowered his hand and made a weird noise that sounded like "kol kol kol".

"This is a smoking-free place, everyone is supposed to be independent on that subject. At your age, you're not supposed to take anything anyway. We've had hardcore cases, but the nurse knows how to deal with detox cures. Go see her about any medical problem. None of these products are sold on the campus, so there should be no problem. Normally."

She insisted on that last word, glaring at Gilbert and his two friends giggling in the last row, and glanced knowingly at another fifth year boy with sparky hair, a striped scarf and a scar on his forehead. He didn't exactly look like a troublemaker but the co-principal didn't buy it. She had found this guy selling weed to his classmates once, and if she hadn't caught him at it again, she was still suspicious.

"Third rule: after 10pm, you are ALL supposed to be in your rooms. I don't care what you do in them, but don't let me find you in the corridors after lights are out. One more thing: you are supposed to sleep in your own room. No slumber party, or shady businesses.

The woman's tone suddenly became softer and she continued with a little wink.

"However, as I said earlier, we are realistic here. You are teens, most of you have your hormones all over the place, so I am aware many will break this rule during the year. This is why we do not inspect the rooms at night. I'll just ask you to pretend nothing happened. If you want to sleep with someone, that's your problem, don't go telling your personal achievements to everyone. And please let the others sleep in peace. Also, rape is a crime, we have a zero tolerance policy about this. This is no joke, I am warning you."

The raising giggles and laughs that started with the tirade calmed down with those words…

"Oh, I almost forgot. The nurse prescribes birth control pills to all the girls who'll ask for them. And she gives condoms. For free."

… Before starting again in a huge burst of laughter. The shyest ones just blushed up to the root of their hair. Luna waited for silence to come back and continued.

"Alright, those were the three most important rules. We also have all the classic rules of a school: no skipping class, wear your uniform at school, no wandering on the campus during school days, and no walking around naked outside the showers. Francis, that was about you."

Francis, the blond boy from the trio the young woman targeted earlier, shrugged coolly before paying attention again to his right neighbor's cleavage under the amused look of his two friends. Said neighbor, a pretty redhead from fifth year, noticing what he was doing, slapped him immediately and switched seats with a boy sited next to her, probably her brother according to the flaming hair color they shared. Francis rubbed his cheek with a cringe as another boy, a ruffled blond with at least four rows of eyebrows that had had the idea to wear a black cape around his uniform, spat two or three insults at him with a pure British accent.

That sort of scene must have been the usual for Luna didn't even intervene and just looked at her watch.

"Well… It's thirty past eleven and… I suppose we're done. You can now go visit a little, see the building and meet your new classmates. You're not allowed to go in town yet but you can visit the playground, the library and the study room. The cafeteria is opened at noon and you'll meet with your main teachers at two. The list of rooms for that meeting will be in the playground as well as on the doors, you shouldn't have any troubles finding your way. Thank you for listening, I wish to all of you an enjoyable school year here at Hetako academy!

* * *

"Luna! Luna: Signorita Luna! Wait for me!"

The co-principal turned around to see a certain Italian teacher running after her. She paused for a few moments to let him catch up to her, hiding a smile behind her hand.

"Yes? Mr. Vargas? Is something wrong?"

"No, I'm just running after you because I love to exercise," he ironized, trying to catch his breath. "Seriously," he continued, "I feel like you forgot to mention some information in the job offer you've sent to me…"

"Oh, and what would that be?"

Romulus sent her an annoyed look as she bit her lips not to laugh.

"I was expecting to work in a famous high school, not at the X-men academy."

"I never said we were the X-men. They probably have better funding than we do."

Romulus did not comment. Luna smiled at him. She had become quite a talented psychologist after working with teens and definitely knew the man in front of her was trying to hide his fear behind his annoyed glare.

"I never noticed anything strange around myself, nor around my twins. In other words, we have nothing to do here."

"Are you quitting before even starting class?"

He didn't answer but his look spoke for him.

"Alright, you're free."

She turned around and kept walking, leaving him behind, puzzled by her sudden permission. He caught up to her again, uncertain.

"Uh… What do you mean?"

"You're free. You can leave whenever you wish. However, your sons will stay here."

"What?" he exclaimed, offended.

She stopped and turned to him, her almond-shaped eyes diving into his amber gaze.

"Let me be honest with you," she said softly, gently. "Even though it would pain me to call our last history teacher back, since she literally adores her job at the café she opened in town, you are not necessary to the well-being of our school. Your power is far from dangerous, actually this is why you didn't notice it all this time. You could leave and live your life without ever noticing anything out of the ordinary. Your sons, however, both possess two powers that could cause havoc if they came to use them in public, not to mention the choc of discovering them with no preparation. They need to stay here."

"You don't have the right to keep us from leaving."

"Perhaps. But if you do love your children, you'll understand they belong here more than anywhere else. Besides, I believe you have had difficulties to find a stable job, right? It would be terrible if you and your sons were to live in the streets…"

Romulus didn't answer, troubled. He thought about the numerous debts he had hidden from the twins, about the apartments that became smaller and smaller every time they moved, about all the times he was fired. A few years with this job would let him repay everything. He was afraid of this place and of the surprises it might hold, but maybe it was best to stay, at least until he could get rid of a few problems. Luna took his silence for a yes.

"I assume the discussion is over?" she said.

"Well… I suppose."

"Good."

She started to walk away but the professor ran after her once more.

"May I just ask one more question, mia bella?"

"Go on."

"What is this power you were talking about?"

"It's more of an ability than a power."

"Still."

"We call that being a "sex-god"."

"What?"

"It basically means you're better in bed than normal for no reason in particular."

"Seriously? Hey, would you care to check that with…"

And one slap for Mr. Vargas!

* * *

The half-hour passed very quickly, and the new kids, sticking to each other like rice in an onigiri, didn't visit much. The group had just settled in the playground, near the cafeteria doors, and waited for their opening in an almost religious silence, barely troubled by the repetitive "vee~" of a certain Italian boy. As if being new in a school wasn't enough, it had to be a school for freaks. The principal's speech had put a heavy apprehension upon their shoulders, and none of them dared to move away from their classmates. Most of them, if they were well-aware of the numerous looks sent their way, were pretending not to see anything. The joys of integration…

In the playground, they played the "who judges best" game. In groups of two to six, students didn't look away from their new mates. There were bets on what kind of power each would have, on the exact origin or previous grade. The "shipping club" girls were frenetically doodling, wondering with who each one would go best with. And some were evaluating the beauty/accessibility rate in their new potential targets. Assumptions were doing well, but not necessarily in the best way…

The Bad Touch Trio was in the middle of examining the new class, standing against a wall. Ludwig was with them, he had nothing better to do before lunch. Beside, after his morning bad mood, he had to admit it was funny to passively listen his brother looking for an acceptable girlfriend for him in the group

"The little blond. Yes. Come on, she's cute! Tiny and shy, like a little princess."

"Too young," Francis answered. "And seeing how that guy over there is looking at her, she's probably not all that naïve.

"But she definitely is _muy linda_ ," agreed Antonio after checking Bella was too far to hear him.

"Ok fine… The Asian, then? The pretty one with the pink flowers."

"There is only one Asian girl in the group…"

"True she isn't bad…" admitted Francis. "But she could use some curves. What do you think, Lulu?"

Ludwig emitted a growl-like sound to show he didn't care.

"See, he thinks so too!"

"Bullshit."

"Okay, okay, okay… How about the Latino? She's young but she has the right body. And I like her tan."

"Hum? ... Espera, chicos! I think I know her…"

"Was?"

"Yes, yes, wait, I know I already saw her… Yes! I remember, she's my cousin, Faustina, the one I told you about, that lives in Brazil!"

"Oh, right! The kid on the picture from when you were little, you and your brother? Damn, she's changed!"

"Yeah, that's why I hadn't recognize her!"

"So she has a power too?"

"Well it's common after all for member of the same family. With the number of siblings around here…"

"Anyway, come along! I'll introduce you!"

And so they did right away. The four boys casually walked up to the group of new kids, all shyness destroyed by the family bond. Antonio walked ahead and caught his cousin from behind as she tried to establish a hint of communication with the little blond girl's brother. She screamed and threw her foot in her aggressor's private parts (purely feminine reflex), he let her go with a growl of pain and fell to the ground (a minute of silence for the loss of his virility, may it rest in peace…). He whined for a while, bent in half, before struggling to get back up so he could explain himself. There were two or three exchanges of shouts, both in Spanish and Portuguese, and suddenly the cousins fell into each other's arms, laughing joyfully. They hadn't seen each other for about six years, I suppose we can all understand!

The crowd's opinion was torn. Some gave as much shit as a rock, others were visibly questioning themselves way too much, and a last category seemed to wish to partake in the celebration, even though they didn't understand a word of what was being said. Ludwig was just waiting for things to happen when a hand grabbed his shirt to catch his attention. He turned around, looked down… and stopped.

Two huge golden eyes were fixed on him, overflowing with innocence and love for life…

Auburn hair, soft and smooth, from which stood out a single lock that turned into an adorable curl on the left side of her head…

A creamy skin slightly tanned by the sun…

Smiling pinkish lips…

It was Her.

The perfect replica of the little girl on the picture he'd kept.

One second later, the charm broke. Ludwig noticed quickly this person still clinging to his shirt wasn't a girl. It wasn't Her… It was a young boy. From the first year. Who looked like her a lot. That's all. Nothing more. He really had to calm down…

But those eyes, this hair, this curl, anyone couldn't have the same!

But… There was the proof, right in front of him…

Maybe she was actually a girl?

No, he was obviously a boy.

But, what if he was liking to her somehow? It was possible after all! They looked so much alike!

No, there were probably tons of Italians with golden eyes and hair like this. He was no ethnic specialist after all.

But… But…

"But what, damn it!" growled the blond boy just like he did every time he'd get lost in thoughts.

His face had become so scary the small brunet immediately let go of his shirt, eyes shining with terror.

"S-sorryyyyyy! I didn't mean to! It's not my fault! I confused you for someone else! Sorry! Sorryyyyy!"

Ludwig needed a few seconds to understand he was the one scaring the little Italian like that and quickly composed a normal face again to try and calm him, which mildly worked.

"Sorry, it's not your fault. I thought… Huh? Aren't you one of the new history teacher's sons?"

"Ah? Yes, yes, that's me. I'm Feliciano. P-piacere di conoscerti!" the youngest smiled in spite of a few remaining shivers who didn't last very long.

"Uh… Ok, whatever you say… I'm Ludwig."

"Ludwig…" the Italian boy repeated softly.

His smile appeared to grow more sincere as the fear he had felt at first was fading away.

"Ludwig," he said again. "That's a nice name!"

"Ah, uh, thanks."

They both stopped talking. They were watching each other, scanning each other, some sort of uneasiness and a light blush comfortably settled on both their faces. They could have stayed like that for a while if Romano hadn't seen them. A warning signal loudly bursted into the eldest twin's brain.

" _Feli! Vieni qui, adesso!"_

" _Ah? Si, fratello?"_

Feliciano quickly raced back to his brother who gripped his arm firmly, as if keeping him from going back.

"Don't get near him, dummy."

"Ve? Why? He didn't do anything? He does yell a little but…"

"I don't care, don't get near him. I don't trust him at all."

Feliciano didn't answer. Further away, Ludwig was talking with his brother, eyes a little lost. A nostalgic smile drew itself on the Italian's face again…

* * *

"Hey guyyyyys!"

The group turned around like one man toward the newcomer. He was a young American with hair hesitating between blond and light brown and who seemed to hold something invisible in his hand. This invisible thing actually seemed like it was struggling to get away, but he didn't appear to care.

"I'm Alfred Jones," he declared in a clear voice, "and I am the HERO of this school, so if you have any problem, you have to come and see me, okay?"

Slight nod from the group. Satisfied, Alfred caught with his free hand the invisible thing that was still struggling and pushed it in front of him. The closest students could hear a barely audible whisper that didn't seem to belong to the American, saying:

"Please, Alfred, let me go!"

But he didn't seem to hear and just threw a fit of laughter with no reason whatsoever.

"So that thing you can't see, right here, is my bro. Say hi, Matthew!"

"Alfred, there's no use…"

"Come on!"

Sigh from the invisible thing. A shape slowly appeared in the air, barely visible. A young boy that looked a lot like Alfred waved a transparent hand at them.

"Hi, and welcome in our school," he said softly. "I hope we'll get along…"

He barely finished his sentence before turning invisible again. His brother frowned for a few seconds but let go of him. They could hear footsteps, than nothing.

"Matty is a lil' shy," Alfred explained with an idiot smile plastered on his face. "Not like me! Good thing he has his heroic big brother to help him, huh! Well, anyway… As super-president of the super-solidarity super-club, I want to be sure all of you will make friends. And the first step is… scatter! Go see the others and make friends! I don't want to see anyone alone!"

There was a few hesitating seconds. The students had just seen an invisible and shy guy welcoming them so making friend, for now… Eventually, some decided to move: Antonio took Faustina by the hand to go introduce her to his girlfriend, soon followed by his two friends and Ludwig. Feliciano followed them without paying attention to his brother who protested and came along just to make sure he wouldn't get too close to the tall blond. Mei looked around for Elizaveta so they could talk about yaoi. Vash and Lily walking in the direction of a guys with brown hair, glasses, a cowlick, and a beauty spot on his cheek, quietly reading on a bench a few steps away, and pretended to say hello. Feliks spotted his new roommate from afar and raced to him. Tino and Peter walked away, telling jokes. As for Kiku… Well, he had just stayed in place hoping the American wouldn't notice him. No luck.

"Hey, you, what's your… Hold on, aren't you the frog guy from earlier? Nice show!"

"It is I, indeed. _Hajimemashite, Arufuredo-kun_."

"Huh? Yeah, whatever you say… Didn't you hear me? Go make some friends!"

"Hum…" Kiku hesitated. "It's just that I would wish to stay alone…"

"What? You don't want to make friends?"

"Well certainly… but… I'd rather not… Be a burden?"

"Hold on, hold on! If you don't assert yourself a little, how do you expect to make friends? It will take forever, no one will notice you and you'll end up like Matty! 'sides, I bet you're all alone here since you're new! You must be so lonely…"

"Uh, that isn't really the case, actually… And I'm not…"

"It's settled then! I'll be your first friend!"

"Eh?"

"Well duh, you need company, you need help! It's the job of a hero to help those alone and in need!"

"Ah, but I assure you this is not necessary! As I said…"

"Whatever! You'll see, I'll be your hero! With me you'll make friends in a split second!"

And Alfred threw a fit of laughter, grabbing Kiku by the shoulder. He tensed up because of the physical contact he wasn't used to. Well, this school year was going to be… At the very least… special.


	4. It's all about authority

"Of course, just go! I can take care of myself, no need to worry like this!" Tino said, laughing.

He didn't expect those two sentences to have such consequences. When Peter had shared that he'd like to go and greet his cousin that was eating alone, after they went and got their lunch at the cafeteria, he had assured him it was fine if he left him for lunch and that this way they would be able to socialize with other people.

He should've shut up.

The moment the little boy not-that-little-because-he-actually-looks-younger-than-he-is left his sight, Tino felt a menacing aura coming right at him. He could only turn around before meeting a pair of eyes as icy as icebergs. He let out a tiny terrified but very manly scream and tried his best not to let go of his tray. The giant didn't care, apparently, still staring at him unfathomably.

"Y-you know it's… rude to stare at people like that, right?"

The giant, Berwald if he recalled correctly, just nodded slowly and gripped his shoulders to lead him between the kids rushing to go get their food. Tino didn't dare struggle, both because he didn't want to upset the man (boy?) and because he didn't want to lose his tray.

They got to a table, a little further in the lunch room. Three people were there. Tino recognized the blond guys with gravity-defying hair he saw in the third year section, at the beginning of the morning meeting. He was currently busy talking loudly with a stupid look on his face – were there a lot of people like this in this school? Next to him, two blond boys, slightly shorter, ate silently. Their hair was so pale it would look white or grey under correct light. The taller one wore a cross-shaped hair clip, and the smaller one had a stuffed puffin on his knees. They looked alike, especially with their same expression of boredom.

Berwald led Tino to the table, took his tray and set it down next to his. The order was obvious. Tino chose not to question and sat docilely. After all, if he could make friends the first day, wouldn't that be a good thing?

"Ooh? So that's your crush, Ber'?" the guy with raised hair exclaimed as the tallest one was sitting down. "Can I be your best man at the wedding?"

He threw a fit of laughter as the hair-clip guy sent him a gaze both annoyed and full of pity. Tino didn't know what to do with himself.

"So, what's your name, _dukke_?"

"Uh… I'm Tino."

"You have an accent, huh? Where are you from?"

"I used to live in Helsinki, in Finland."

"Ahah, welcome in the Nordic Club, dude!" Tino managed to smile as he high fived the hand he was presented. "I'm Mathias, from Denmark, that's where the most awesome kings of Europe came from so you can call me King if you'd like!" Tino didn't reply. "Those two are Lukas and Emil. Say hi, guys!"

Lukas, the hair-clip guy, nodded at him with a face that could look like a smile, and Emil, the puffin guy, let out a small "hi".

"They're from Norway but they used to live in Iceland because… uh… something 'bout their grand-mother… I don't remember. Anyway! Ah, I hope Berwald also introduced himself?"

"Y's."

"Did you tell him you were Swedish?"

"N'"

"Well, now it's done! Welcome to Hetako academy, kid!"

"Uh… Thanks?" They went silent and Tino started eating. He was starting to feel a little more at ease, probably from the jolly atmosphere Mathias was creating just by talking alone. At least, it worked for him. The Danish boy seemed like the most approachable out of the four of them, even though he was a little exuberant…

"Come on, Ber', you can tell us now." Tino looked up. Mathis was leaning toward a Berwald who was busy ignoring him, and scanned him maliciously.

"Wh't?"

"Come on, pretend you don't know! His power!"

Tino choked on his water and started coughing. He had to reassure the two older boys, looking at him worriedly and waiting for the fit to stop before going on. "'Bout nature. L'ke y' three. Pow'rful too."

"You detect people's powers?"

"Ahah, nah, kid! That's not it. See, your fiancé, right here, can see auras."

"He's not my… Auras?"

"Yep! Basically, he can know about your mood, your personality, your health, and all kinds of stuff just by looking at you."

Tino's eye went wide. Berwald, on his part, was eating his lunch (fish boiled in some unidentified sauce) with an absent-minded look. "Really?"

"Of course! And he can also see soul ma…"

Mathias couldn't continue for a hand was hand carefully strangling him with his own tie. The four other teens at the table watched with fascinated looks as his face turned red, then white, as he struggled with his makeshift rope, gesturing wildly at his aggressor to let him go. "Berwald, I know he's annoying, but maybe you shouldn't kill him. Murder looks bad on a CV," Lukas finally said, adding salt to his meal.

The oldest boy seemed to count pros and cons before letting go of his friend who had just started to take an interesting greenish-blue color. Tino wondered for a second if this was the usual here, and concluded from everybody's unfazed look that it probably was.

Mathias needed a second or two to get better, forcing air into his throat while frenetically undoing the piece of clothing made torture tool. Tino waiting for his to finish his previous sentence, but the Danish boy obviously knew keeping talking about Berwald's abilities might be a bit dangerous for him.

The rest of the conversation was oriented toward the three other boy's powers, the classes and the visit of the campus that was supposed to happen the next day. This is how Tino learned that Lukas could turn into fog for almost an entire minute and was also in the witchcraft club, that Emil controlled more or less the wind, and that Mathias could spill a glass when trying to control the water inside it.

There was also a moment of panic on the little Finnish's side when Emil's stuffed puffin, until now calm and unmoving on his knees like any king of stuffed toy, looked up and starting talking with a voice so bad ass he would pass as the boss of a yakuza gang with no problem. When he managed to calm down, the younger boy explained a student from their class, Long, tended to give life to stuffed toys around him when he got angry, so it wasn't surprising to found some around all the time because he couldn't bring them back to normal.

He also noticed the Danish boy kept flirting at his Norwegian neighbor who would only ignore him. All three were third years, just like Berwald. However, nobody tried to talk about the Swedish guy again. His "warning" has crystal-clear: he was the only one allowed to talk about himself to Tino.

The Finnish boy was a little bit worried. And slightly angry too. They barely met and Berwald was already so bossy with him. Seriously, he could have at least asked him before deciding he was his wife. Why did he have to call him his wife anyway? He was a boy, damn it! And he wasn't going to date a stranger, especially one that looked so menacing! So they needed to have a talk, so the Swedish boy would understand that reading his aura didn't give him some right on him!

Tino turned to his neighbor, eager to set things straight. Berwald looked at him with his icy blue gaze and a look so menacing the tiny blond decided he just might do this another time…

* * *

"Hey, Arthur! Remember me, eyebrow-jerk?"

Arthur looked up from the book he was reading while eating ("To free yourself from spells and fate", by Patrick Guérin) to see the short silhouette of Peter who just sat in front of him. His face went through a whole range of emotions, from joy to nostalgia to anger, before choosing a small bitter smile. "Of course I remember you, little brat!" he said as he pt his book down.

Anyone would be upset at the insult, but Peter just laughed. "Last time you called me that, I had knocked the trashcan over with my bike and you made me pick everything up."

"Shut up! I still covered up for you when uncle Roy found metal cans in the bushes!"

"You lectured me for him."

"You needed a lesson, young man!"

Peter smiled maliciously and started eating his fries. "We were always fighting, weren't we? I can't remember why."

"Neither can I. But you were so childish…"

"You didn't change one bit, big jerk."

"You changed even less, little brat."

Peter looked upset and Arthur realized it wasn't very delicate of him to say that now that he couldn't grow up anymore. He wanted to change the subject immediately and started to stare into his curry rice. "By the way, how are Uncle Roy and Aunt Joan? We had no news since we left."

Peter went silent for a second. A shadow crossed his face but Arthur didn't see it, to busy mixing the rice and sauce. "They're a little sick but they'll be fine," Peter finally said with a smile back on his face. "They're still in England so you won't be able to see them. They're very busy right now. They do important stuff!" he added with a hint of arrogance.

"Ah," Arthur just said. He didn't know what else to say. Peter was his cousin but he used to consider him his little brother. A very annoying, unruly and disobedient little brother, but a little brother he loved, even if he'd always refuse to admit it. At the time, they lived only a few streets apart, and since Uncle Roy and Aunt Joan worked a lot, Peter was always playing and teasing him at his place.

But this was before he moved here with his family, on Hetako Academy campus. He was only ten then, and the only child that hadn't yet discovered his powers, much to his brothers and sister's amusement, as they wouldn't stop pranking and mocking him because he was the youngest.

Carwin's Shadows gave him nightmares then, and he almost had a heart attack when Snowball, the tiny white bunny that ended up buried in the garden after an unfortunate encounter with the neighbor's cat, had appeared in his room, stumbling around, his fur all dirty with mud and blood. Allistor was so proud of the trick he had claimed guilty in front of the whole family with no hesitation. And then there was Fiona, the only girl, that was found in a coma, lying on her bed. Oscar, her twin brother, started to see ghosts, including hers, and calmly helped her to get back to her body. And this was without mentioning their mother, Bodescia, equal to none in witchcraft, and their father who specialized in green magic.

Such a crazy family that had driven him crazy many times. But still, he had always been impatient to discover his own powers. He loved helping his mother in her rituals, since his youngest age. It was a real passion, even if he was obviously not talented for spells or potions his parents created all the time.

He had to wait to be twelve before finding out he could curse people. Allister deserved it that one time. He was unable to walk out the front door without birds and rats attacking him for an entire week, and Bodescia needed all her focus to make a counter-spell. Arthur still laughed when he thought about it, but his second power came into light almost immediately. And he would have gladly given that one away.

A kick in the leg from the annoying little boy interrupted his thoughts. He backed away, by reflex, as if he was burned, before remembering Peter was from his family. He recomposed himself and chose to leave his shyness aside to spark the conversation again. "Have you been able to make friends yet?

"Yes," Peter said proudly, as if it was a big achievement.

This made Arthur smile, he knew he was showing off. "A lot?" he asked, innocently.

"Of course!" Peter said, with an enthusiasm too big to be true.

"Really? How many?" asked the English boy, maliciously.

His cousin's smile dropped as we wondered what to say. "Uh, well, I don't count my friends, you know!"

"Then tell me their names!"

"Uh, their names…" The little boy was drowning in his lie as Arthur laughed up his sleeve. "There's Tino, for one… and then…"

"And then?"

"Uh…" Peter looked around, frenetically seeking something to say. He spotted Tino, at a table with four other boys, and said the first thing he thought of. "Them! We became friends, uh… earlier!"

"Really!"

"Really really!"

"And their names?" Peter opened his mouth but nothing came out. He really was back to the wall now. Seeing his embarrassment, Arthur couldn't repress a laugh the youngest took offense at.

"Why are you asking anyway?" he said aggressively.

"Hey, I just wanted to know!" Arthur tried to calm him down. "Besides, since your small, you might get teased so it might be better if…"

"Oh come on!" Peter grouched. "You know I'm not actually eight, right?"

"Would you speak to me better?" Arthur grew angry.

"I'll speak the way I want!"

"You really didn't change! Still such a stubborn kid!"

"And you're still a know-it-all, stupid eyebrows!"

"At least I know better than you, little brat!"

"Is that why you're eating all by yourself?!" With a wave of the hand, Peter pointed at the four other empty chairs around them. Arthur grew pale for a second.

"This… This has nothing to do with it!" he eventually declared.

"Pff…" Peter sighed in annoyance. "You know what? Now I remember why we used to fight, you stupid jerk!" And without another word, he took his tray and left his cousin alone in his splendid isolation.

* * *

A few tables away, a Spanish, and French and a German were spying. "And… Stop! How much?"

Gilbert stopped the chronometer and looked at the results with an amused grin. "Three minutes, thirty-five seconds. Kesese, I think that's the first time someone stands him for so long!"

They were eight at the table. Bella was chatting with Faustina, sitting in front of her. Next to her were Antonio, Francis and Gilbert who had just had the time of their lives measuring the time Peter needed to run from the English boy. In front of them were Ludwig, Feliciano and Lovino, stuck between his brother and the Brazilian girl who didn't even look at him. That wouldn't have bothered him if the weird Spanish dude sitting in front of him didn't look at him every chance he got with a weird face. Some sort of stupid smile and a vaguely daydreaming gaze. As if he was high, but not really. Lovino wasn't sure if he should be afraid or angry, so he was both.

He would never had come to this table of his own will, but he had the duty to make sure his brother didn't get too close to the guys he had renamed "the potato-eater bastard" upon seeing the huge quantities of potatoes he had for lunch. The little brunet seemed glad to cling to the blond boy every chance he got like a clam to its rock.

He didn't really looked like that, but with his happy idiot face and childish words, Feliciano was able to get into a group of people as naturally as if he had always been there. He started with some innocent comment here and there in the conversation, asked a few question, listened with amazed eyes, and in the end, he was naturally having lunch with his new friends who were perfect strangers barely two minutes ago without anyone questioning.

"Ve… Is he really that mean?" Feliciano innocently asked as Gilbert and Antonio still made fun of the English boy.

Gilbert breathed an eerie laugh as he turned to the young Italian who started shaking. "He's the biggest threat in the academy," the albino said as if telling a horror story. "He kidnaps first year kids and uses their guts to help with his mother's potions. And if anyone tries to stop him, he curses them with a fate more terrible than the one in "Beauty and the Beast"! They call him… Cursed Arthur…"

A terrified Feliciano started to cry and to grip harder onto Ludwig's arm. A little more and he'd poop in his pants. The German boy made a face of mixed embarrassment and annoyance before explaining the scared little Italian boy it was just a stupid joke and no, Arthur wouldn't come take his guts to make a disgusting soup he'd force people to drink. Where did he get that from anyway?

Eventually, after a few more minutes of conversation more or less intelligent ("Look, I'm an awesome unicorn!" "Gilbert, take that carrot away from your face right now"), Bella decided to show Faustina the way to her classroom and kissed Antonio goodbye. "I'm going to miss you, _mijn liefde_!"

"No, I'm going to miss you, mi _corazón_!"

"I'm going to miss you more, _lieverd_!"

"But I'm going to miss you most, mi _tesoro_ …"

"Damn it, get a room and stop it!"

After this very elegant intervention from an Italian we won't name, Bella finally let go of her boyfriend and left with a Brazilian dying from laughter. Francis got up as well to go tease/flirt at/bother his favorite English boy who was just finishing his food, unknowing of the plague about to fall on him.

This was the moment Lovino chose to finally ask THE question : "Seriously, why have you been looking at me like this for so long, _stronzo_?"

Antonio looked a little embarrassed but still didn't lose the stupid smile he wore. Lovino really wanted to punch him in the face to get rid of the stupid expression that reminded him a bit too much of his brother. "Actually, I was thinking that if your face was a little redder, it would look like a big ripe tomato with hair and it would be so cute."

" _C-cosa_?" Lovino nearly choked hearing this. Cute? He just said he was cute? Who did that damn fucking tomato fetishist bastard think he was? Okay, tomatoes are freaking awesome and he was the first one to claim their discovery was the best thing to ever happen to Italian food. But damn it, it was not okay to tell someone they'd be cute if they looked like a tomato! And he was not even cute, he was manly and charming like a good Italian, hah! Okay, he lacked some height and some muscle but he'd rather that than look like the Aryan bastard his brother was practically transplanted onto and even without that he was NOT CUTE, DAMN IT!

Antonio was still staring at him and his stupid expression soon changed into pure amazement. What now? " _Increible_ … I was right, it's just… _tan adorable… demasiado lindo…_ "

Realizing his own face just betrayed him, Lovino blushed even harder – from anger, damn it! Not like a fucking middle schooler who'd just get a compliment, okay? – and to set things straight, did what he wanted to do since he saw his stupid face : send his fist flying into Antonio's face, and the boy fell over from his chair, whining. Then he got up, brought his tray to the bin, came back, grabbed his brother by the arm yelling at him over nothing and dragged him out of the cafeteria so he could keep yelling on someone. Feliciano was still glued to Ludwig, by the way, and he had no other choice than to be dragged along despite the aggressive Italian's threats.

Antonio got up with difficulties and send a pitiful look at Gilbert who was just dying from laughter the entire time. "Did I say something wrong?" he asked, wiping the blood dripping from his nose with a paper towel."

"Nope, you said just the right thing!" the albino said without stopping his fit of laughter.

He got up, still laughing, to go clear his tray. But as he came back to the Spaniard, he tripped on something and fell over. He managed to grab the corner of the table at the last second and got up. He looked around to find what had made him trip but, besides two or three pieces of trash lying around, he didn't see anything out of the ordinary.

A little further away, quite footsteps could be heard as the cafeteria's door opened itself…

* * *

"Mei Wang?"

" _Zhé_!"

"Lili Zwingly?"

" _Ja_!"

"Vash Zwingly?"

" _Hier_!"

"Good, everyone's here."

Romulus sat his pen down. The first year students looked slightly more relaxed than this morning and there were already some chatter discreet enough to be ignored. The best ambiance according to the teacher.

He was a little nervous. Actually, it was the first time he felt this way in front of a class. Generally, he was very relaxed with kids. And he had no reason to be scared, there wasn't actual danger, was there? "Alright… Let's begin then!" he said, smiling gladly. He took the timetables on his desk and started passing them around as he introduced himself. "I'll be your main teacher this year. We'll have two hours of class every Monday from two to three fifty PM, so we'll take some time every week to talk about the class, alright?"

Nobody spoke, which Romulus took as a good sign. He was barely done passing the papers around when the door to the classroom opened again. Luna was hesitatingly standing in the doorway. Romulus gestured to her to come in and walked back to his desk to let her talk.

"Well, I see you all have your timetables," she said. "Very well, so, let me tell you about how the school works." She spoke with ease, and her melodious voice naturally captivated everyone's attention. "Classes start every day at eight and stop at ten to four. You have a twenty minutes long break at ten to ten, but teachers are allowed to finish their class during that time. Lunch break is between twelve and two, and the library is open during it. Dinner is between six and eight. Free time between the end of class and dinner should be used for clubs or homework. Inscriptions will be next Saturday. Wednesday afternoons also have a free time during which you can go see your teachers to study more on the subject of your choice. And finally, curfew is at ten, except on Saturdays and during vacations, when it is postponed to one AM at most. Questions?

No one raide their hand. Actually, no one remembered the times or took notes, but they weren't going to ask her to repeat herself. In the end, it was kind of like a normal school.

* * *

It was four PM, and there was a forty-six miles long line before the coffee machine in the teachers' lounge. At a table, Abelia Bonnefoy, the literature teacher, was rubbing her forehead, dipping a cinnamon biscuit in her cream coffee.

"So, how did it go?" said a mocking voice from behind her. She turned. Bodescia Kirkland, English teacher, was staring at her with a little grin. The blond women turned back to her coffee, too discouraged to talk back to the provocations about to fall on her. Her rival didn't buy it and walked forth. "Come on, tell me, were they nice? Didn't they talk? Nothing." No, she wasn't going to answer… She wasn't… "Mine were perfect. Even Alfred was calm, can you believe it? After all, authority should be exercised, right?" Abelia focused on the bitter taste of her drink. She glanced at the potted cactus sitting on a nearby shelf. Tempting, but no. "Come on, tell me! How was the hellish trio, huh? Did little Francis listen to his mom? What were you saying? Oh, right, "He'll never dare to act like he usually does with his mother as his main teacher, I know him better than that!", isn't that what you said?"

"… I hate you."

Bodescia's smile grew wider. She headed to the exit, proud like a peacock. "You won't brag next time. And remember you owe me three movie tickets now!" she added before she left.

" _Espèce de fleur de macadam_ *…" Abelia growled before biting angrily into her biscuit. She bent down to get a file in her bag, and when she looked up, Afonso Carriedo, the science teacher, was standing before him and looked at her with amused eyes. He took a chair and sat in front of her. Abelia carefully drew her coffee nearer with a look that was too possessive to be serious.

"You should probably stop your bets one day, you two," the Spaniard said with his beautiful colgate smile.

"Not gonna happen soon!" Aiyanna Jones said from the copier.

There was a moment of silence. Abelia rubbed her face again before gulping down her coffee. Afonso took advantage of that by stealing the last half of biscuit and swallowing it. "I can't believe my adorable Francis has become so… so…"

"Unruly?" Folkert Bielschmidt tried from the corner of wall he was standing against.

"It's all because of those two idiots!"

"Hey, don't say that about Antonio, Abelia!" Afonso said, mouth still full of crumbs.

"But you can, about Gilbert," added Folkert, who was obviously feeling chatty.

The Spaniard turned to the tall blond man who was calmly finishing his decaf. "How was your class?" he asked daringly.

Folkert barely reacted. "We had to separate Mathias and Lukas again, Long and Andrès were moody, Berwald's diction classes aren't working, and Ludwig was perfect, as usual."

"Emil and Lukas didn't get into trouble?" Eric Bondvik asked, stirring his chocolate.

"No, why?"

"No reason."

They sent him strange looks but the biology teacher stayed silent, with a little smile, signifying no, it wasn't today he'd reveal anything about himself.

The door suddenly opened, letting through Jolan Edervari, Romulus Vargas and their animated discussion about the evolution of feminine beauty icons throughout history, or something like that. The two men vaguely acknowledged the other people around as they walked to the lockers. Jolan pulled a magazine from the monstrous mess that was his personal space, then they left like they had come. Without stopping their discussion for one second.

"Looks like Jolan has found a friend…" Khemet Hassan said with and even more neutral face than usual.

"Jealous?" Akhanta Karpusi asked softly.

"Not at all."

"Lust's eyes have secret joys…" she added, staring into the void.

Khemet stared at her, both annoyed and confused.

"Paul Eluard," the Greek woman added.

"Nobody cares," the Egyptian woman answered.

* * *

* "Fleur de macadam" is a French expression for "prostitute", so Abelia was basically calling Bodescia a bitch in a very elegant way.


	5. A town for teens

"No, please, stay together! Those on the front, you slow down right now! Is it that hard to calm down for two seconds? Boys, what did I say literally two minutes ago? Stay on that damn sidewalk! Lovino, are you listening to me?! Feliciano, I know the butterflies are pretty but could you please stay with the group?"

Standing among the herd of teenagers he called his students, Romulus was doing his best to keep in line the ones that kept drifting away. He could understand that they were excited to discover the campus. An entire city built for a few dozens of students, more than enough to be impatient. But couldn't they calm down until they got to the meet-up mark?

"Hey, girls… And Feliks! You're behind, stop chatting. Really, have you never gone on a school trip before? ... Eight… Nine… Has someone seen Peter? Ah, never mind, ten… Stop running around! Do you _want_ me to put you in a row?"

Under the threat of the terrible "walking-two-by-two-like-in-primary-school", the teenagers eventually calmed down a notch and stopped drifting about. Romulus could finally breath and glare back at Luna who had let him take care of the situation himself, laughing at his lack of authority on his students.

It was a beautiful Saturday morning. Not a cloud in sight and the sun still had its summer warmth. On week-ends, there was a shuttle between the town center and the dorms, but it was such a beautiful day that Luna and Romulus had decided unanimously a short walk wouldn't hurt the students. But the Italian teacher hadn't expected some to start running to get there faster while others stayed behind chatting, picking flowers or chasing butterflies…

Sometimes, he felt like a shepherd guiding a flock of mules without his dogs…

After a half-an-hour of more or less constant walking, the group finally got to the town center. Vash was holding his sister's hand to help her follow after he braided her a daisy crown. Feliciano had stopped running about and had taking upon himself to make Kiku laughed, though the Japanese boy was growing less comfortable with every weird joke the Italian was telling. Romano was sulking. Peter was laughing with Tino. Luna had blinkered Feliks with her hands so he wouldn't run to every shop window he'd see. Faustina and Mei were talking about painting their nails. Long story short, everything seemed fine.

The town itself was quite nice. The steets were large and clean, in spite of a few wrapping that had missed the trashcans. They were pretty empty too at the moment. There were many shops and all of them were open and most students just couldn't wait to find out everything this place had for them.

Kiku and Vash were the only ones who bothered to listen to Luna's safety speech, the others were way too busy choosing which way they were going to head to first. She only really caught their attention when she took out of her bag a dozen colorful magnetic cards supposed to pay for their shopping. Their parents had taken care of putting some pocket money on them. After a few more instructions and telling them to be back at the meet-up mark at 5pm, she eventually wished them a good day. They didn't need to be told twice and all ran in different directions.

Well, all but Feliciano and Lovino who had to put up with their father's decision to "spend some time as a family, since we finally have a chance to". It didn't bother Feliciano that much. As for his brother… Let's just say he was in the mood to sulk and it wasn't about to get better.

"So, boys, what do you want to do, right now?"

A hungry gurgling answered his question and Feliciano grabbed his stomach, as if trying to silent it. Romulus threw a fit of laughter and Romano facepalmed as his brother tried to explain he got up late and didn't have time to eat much. The twins' father interrupted him and offered to go grad something to eat in a café before starting their visit.

They found one at the next street corner. A charming café with a pavement area decorated with little potted olive trees and where Tunisian music was playing. On the front was an ochre sign with black elephants that said "The Carthaginian". Romulus wasn't sure where the bad feeling came from when he walked through the door with his two sons.

Delicious pastries were shown off in a glass counter, next to what must be the kitchen's door. Dark and varnished wooden tables were waiting for costumers, vainly displaying colorful menus. A young woman was almost done mopping the floor in a corner.

She had dark skin, curly and shiny black hair that bounced over her neck, and a way of holding her head that suggested pride and sensibility. She had large hands and strong limbs in spite of her thin and elegant body. She wore a simple beige outfit that looked like it was designed to make her look taller than she already way, despite her flat sandals. She finished her task before looking up at her costumers with a genuine smile. Her green eyes, framed by thick black eyelashes, met Romulus's brown gaze.

He froze as she opened large surprised eyes. "Romulus…" she whispered, stunned.

"E… Elyssa?" he answered with the same expression. A smile lit up his face and he stepped forward. "Elyssa, is that you? It's been so long! What have you…"

He couldn't continue. The bucket the young woman used suddenly had the great idea to throw itself at his face, splashing him with dirty water. The twin fortunately had the reflex to step away so they wouldn't get splashed as well.

The mop then threw itself at Romulus as well, trying to knock him out with its stick. The teacher tried to defend himself but it was fast and hit hard. Elyssa was frozen in front of him and glared at him continuously, her face expression nothing but an indescribable wrath. Seeing this, the twins shared a glance before suddenly remembering they had something of the utmost importance to do on the other side of town.

As for him, Romulus was too busy fighting off the rabid mop to notice his sons' strategical retreat. When he finally managed to grab the stick, the bucket came back and reaped his knees. He crumbled like a turd before Elyssa who placed a foot over his chest and pressed just enough to make him understand she would break his ribcage without a trace of guilt if he dared to move a finger. "What are you doing here?" she hissed, her voice as sharp as a scalpel. "How DARE you come here?"

"I'm taking the first year kids on a day out! I didn't know this was your café!" Romulus answered immediately, knowing by experience it was best not to annoy the young woman.

"Not "here" in this café, asshole," she hissed. "Here in this town, this school, this fucking country!"

"I'm the new history teacher!"

"History teacher?" She had a short laugh that only managed to make more terrifying. "Seriously? Don't make me laugh! They would never hire an idiot like you here, even if you could turn coal into gold or bring dead people back to life! And I know very well that's not the case!

"T-they hired me for my sons! I swear I didn't know you were here! It's luck!"

"Luck?" She laughed again and pressed a little more on Romulus's chest, and he thanked God she hadn't chosen to wear heels that day. "I went over every continent, I went around the world and finally found my place in the farthest country I could find from Italy, all of this for you to find me _through dumb luck_? Through FUCKING luck?" Romulus didn't answer, he was too busy focusing on his own breathing. "Really… Those poor kids are gonna have this thing to teach them history? WHAT were thinking the Chrones sisters!" she ranted more for herself than for her victim.

She stepped away from Romulus's chest and he thought he could get up before he realized he was floating now. Seriously. Not only did he find that resentful woman but she also had telekinesis now? What would it be next? The mafia would go after him because he seduced the godfather's daughter?

He was held in mid-air, flapping his arms like a baby chick to keep a trace of balance. In Elyssa's eyes, there was nothing but sadness, anger and disgust. Without any remorse, she reached out and slapped him harder than he ever was. He just did a flip from the impact. He rubbed his burning cheek but she was not done with him. Without a hint of hesitation, she grabbed him by the collar and punched his other cheek, turning his right cheekbone into jam. And as if that wasn't enough, she pulled him close and pressed a kiss on his lips.

Now Romulus was completely lost. And he was even more when she let him go and he was literally ejected through the restaurant door. He fell on the concrete ground, drenched, with a burning cheek, a mashed one, bruised knees and Elyssa screaming at him from the entrance to never even try to get near her café again unless he wanted her broomstick so far up his ass it would stick out from his mouth. And Romulus, as would any strong and brave man in such a situation, did the only thing he could think of: he ran away.

* * *

"Ve… Are you sure Papà will be fine?"

"Of course, Feli. A dumb bitch won't get rid of him that easily. Besides, what's the worst that could happen?"

"Dying?"

"Yeah, well, forget it and let's go get something else to eat."

"Pasta!"

"Whatever."

 _~ A half hour later ~_

"FELICIANO! OI, FELICIANOOOO! DAMN IT! FELICIANO! HOW DID YOU GET LOST IN A FUCKING STUDENT TOWN?!"

Lovino stopped yelling for a bit so he could catch his breath and give a nice kick to the wall. He wasn't worried for his brother. Why would he be worried about that little shit who couldn't even follow someone in the street? He wasn't scared to be alone in a place he didn't know either. He had a great sense of orientation and wasn't scared at all not to be able to find his way back without anyone with him, even if it was just to yell at him if they took the wrong path. He was just mad his fucking brother was this fucking stupid, that's all!

He angrily kicked the wall again, and again, and again. That poor wall hadn't done anything wrong but he really needed to get his anger out somehow and that cluster of concrete and render was here at the wrong time. May he rest in peace. And while he was at it, he could just show the entire street the refined and flowery vocabulary he had gained over the years. Always a good thing to show off your skill!

"Lovi?"

The Italian boy froze and looked up to his left. Here were that dumb Spaniard who was going to get a head-butt soon for the nickname he'd just used, his stupid albino friend with a spooky laugh, said albino's Aryan potato-eater little brother and… that Feli asshole clinging to him like they were best friends since the dawn of time and eating a fucking chocolate pastry, maxi-sized if you please, that he was ready to bet had been payed for by the Aryan. Sometimes, Lovino really felt like the world hated him and was making fun of him. Knowing him, Feliciano was going to apologize for disappearing like that, then was going to beg him to come with them to do whatever stupid activity they had planned, and of course he was going to agree and do it so that he'll stop being annoying. Well, at least the perverted blond French guy that made innuendos every three seconds wasn't with them. If he was lucky, he had stayed at the dorms to flirt or read or sing or dance or play f…

The shop's door suddenly opened right behind him. A badly shaven mess with golden locks landed on the pavement as an English boy with large eyebrows menacing him with pepper spray and wearing beautiful Union Jack underwear followed him outside yelling : "And don't you dare try to touch me or watch me change again, you damn frog! Or I swear I'll cover you with honey, tie you to a tree and leave you there until you die of hunger, cold, or bug-induced exsanguination! And then, when you're dead, I'll ask my brother to revive you so I can kill you again! Am I clear, you bloody wanker?!"

"Mais, mon lapin…" Francis started. He reached out to the English boy hoping for help to get up but he was spread with pepper instead.

"I SAID DO NOT TOUCH ME, BLOODY HELL!" And he went back into the shop, stomping his feet like an outraged queen. Francis stood up crying crocodile tears, mostly because of the pepper, before noticing his friends and walking to them trying to smile while wiping his eyes at the same time.

Romano was now most definitely sure this world was kidding him.

* * *

Ten minutes. Kiku had been standing in the middle of the street, completely still, for ten minutes. He was lucky no car was passing by, and even if it was the case, he probably wouldn't have moved anyway.

He was facing a dilemma. Not the stupid little "mustard or ketchup?" kind of dilemma, no. He was facing a real cornelian dilemma where no solution seemed satisfying. In front of him : a manga shop. He had promised, sworn and repeated to himself that he would not fall into the delicious otaku sin again. His parents had sent him here in exchange for his promise that he would stop ignoring the world and would stop being a fanatic of mangas, manwas, video games, animes and all these things that stopped him from socializing correctly. He had promised, he had sworn and, like the Edo-era samurais, he considered nothing as important as his own honor. He would follow that promise, on his life!

… But… His parents weren't there… And he was sure he'd seen the color of a super-rare edition of Sailor Moon…

… No! What would his classmates say if they saw him facing such a shameful passion? He was sure the situation would be calling for a seppuku!

… But… But it wasn't a crime to like mangas, right? Besides he didn't like only mangs! It wasn't like he was actually obsessed… Did vocaloids count? They did? Oh, whatever, he'd do what he wanted. Those who didn't like it could just go fuck themselves!

…

Oh, oh gosh, he was starting to be rude! Even in thought, it was unacceptable to say something like that! He'd just do a mental seppuku, there!

… And now he was being stupid… And probably schizophrenic. God damn, what was he going to do! Ah, if only he still had his dear DS to calm his nerves… What a shame he had to leave it at home… It was the new 3D model too…

Well, he had been there for fifteen minutes at this point. Maybe he should try to remember how to walk… Look away, find something else to do… Where those High School of the Dead figurines at the window?! Right next to… A Miku Hatsune body-pillow?!

Before he even knew what he was doing, Kiku was in the shop. The place was relatively simple: beige tilled floors, white walls covered in posters with little price tags under them, evenly spaced shelves overflowing with mangas, goodies, films, and video games on every possible console… He had just opened heaven's doors!

The isles seemed empty for now. The saleswoman sat at her desk replaying a One-Piece scene with her figurines. Literally. The figurines were moving and repeating the exact dialogs. The froze for a second, as if someone had paused the scene, as the woman looked up and informed him there was a 10% sale on every article, then they started again immediately when she looked back at them. That was a _sugoi_ ability!

Kiku was feeling fine. He was smiling. For the first time since… Since… a while. He knew that doing this was like smoking again after several months of abstinence. But he felt too good to stop now. Forget about promises! He hadn't sworn over his little finger after all!

He happily looked over the shelves, thinking about what he could possibly get himself. His parents had let him enough pocket money for the year, specifying he should only use it to buy what would help him in his studies… Well, it was important to relax during studies. Otherwise, he could end up depressed.

An area of the store was dedicated to yaoi. A small group of girls was already silently fangirling. Kiku walked by pretending he wasn't seeing anything, despite a pinch of regret from not being able to look at the pictures… But he had his pride, he couldn't publicly show that not only was he an incurable otaku, he was also a boys-love addict, that was out of the question!

After walking by the shonens, taking a look at the dvds, checking the price of a few posters, he decided to go take a look at the video games. He turned at the right isle… "Uh? Kiku! Hey, how ya doin'?"… Crap. He turned around praying that the American boy that had been admiring the visuals on one of the boxes forgot he had seen him on the spot.

Wasted hope, he could hear his steps behind him.

Alright, let's calm down and face the situation like a true Japanese man. Kiku stopped and turned around. And Alfred, who couldn't brake so suddenly, bumped into him. Kiku didn't even have the time to feel offended by this intrusion in his personal space before feeling himself fall over, pushed away by the American boy's important mass. The tiles were slippery, he couldn't regain his balance. The floor was closing up, Kiku closed his eyes reflexively. He braced for the impact but, instead, two hands grabbed him in extremis.

He opened his eyes. Alfred was holding him with a big stupid smile. "Wow! That was close! But I saved you because I'm the greatest HERO!"

Did he really need to yell each time he said that word? Still, he wasn't lying, he had saved him indeed, so he was indebted. What was the translation for the formula that fit with this situation again? "You helped me greatly and I am forever grateful." Well, that sounded better in Japanese.

"Aww, no need to thank me! What are friends for, right?"

"Uh… What?"

"Friends? Pals? Buddies? You know, the kind of person you could ask their notes or tell a kink without feeling embarrassed?"

Kiku doubted that could ever happen. But if that was how Americans defined friendship then… Wait! "Uh, we only know each other since yesterday so we aren't really…"

"Hey, I told you I'd be your friend, right?"

"Y-yes but…"

"Ooooh! I know! We're gonna tour the town! I know all the best places!"

"I-I don't want to waste your time or…"

"It's fine, I didn't have anything planned! Besides, if we're not done today, we can still come back tomorrow!"

"But weren't you b…" Kiku couldn't finish his sentence. Alfred ran out of the store and started running and laughing like a madman, still holding the Japanese boy in his arms. Kiku was considering screaming, calling for help or hitting his abductor so he'd let him go. And then he decided to keep it subtle and to just wait for a distraction to get away. Alfred meant all the wellness in the world but Kiku was positively incapable of keeping up with someone who didn't know a thing about dignity or personal space.

* * *

Still in the video game isle, Matthew watched his brother go as he had probably forgotten they were supposed to spend the day together. Oh, it was just the fifteenth time he'd forgotten about him that month, no big deal. Besides, even if he loved his brother, he had to admit Alfred was clingy and dumb most of the time. So he wasn't going to complain about having time for himself.

The boy looked at his watch. It was ten thirty, a September Saturday… Outside, the sun was growing hotter… Maybe bowling?

* * *

"… And that's why Wolwerine if definitely the coolest X-man!" Alfred finished before shoving the second half of his seventh super-sized burger in his mouth, muting him for a few seconds. Kiku was almost as fascinated by the gigantesque quantities of food the American boy could ingest as he was by his phenomenal knowledge about every existing super-hero. As for him, he was silent, looking down at the vanilla sundae he was dutifully trying to finish.

He had tried. But Alfred hadn't left him alone for a second. He had dragged him all over town, talking non-stop about the shops, his habits, his heroic deeds, other heroes' deeds, video games… This nearly permanent monologue was something new and quite disturbing at first but, after a while listening to the boy, Kiku was growing used to his loud and childish voice. He wouldn't say he liked it but at least it filled the silence. And since he didn't really like to talk, it was quite reassuring to see that Alfred didn't need anyone's help to talk alone for hours.

He had shown him the numerous activities the town offered, from the movie theater to the planetarium to the laser tag where he was literally forced to play a game. Then he had wanted to show him the harbor but, on the way, they met Ivan and his trembling minions and Alfred had taken the chance to show he was a hero and to free those poor innocent kids from the bully's tyranny.

So while they were fighting, Kiku could admire the Russian boy's cryokinesis and the American's supernatural strength, share a few words with Toris and Raivis, talk about computers with Eduar, notice Natalyas brother-complex and note not to get close to her, and also notice Katyusha's ecchi-like appearance though the older student seemed too innocent for her own good.

After a few minutes watching them fight, Raivis had whispered a few words at the Russian's older sister's ear. She had nodded and held two fingers up to her temple. Both the American and the Russian had then fallen down unconscious in the middle of their fight. Smiling softly, Katyusha had explained this was usually the only way for them to stop fighting. Then her sister helped her taking Ivan, still drowsy, away from Alfred who snored happily. Kiku could have taken the chance to leave. He should have. But he felt bad about leaving the American alone sleeping in the middle of the road. He had hesitated a minute too long, Alfred had opened his eyes and continued the visit as if nothing special happened.

And now they were at the fast-food and Alfred had just swallowed his twelfth super-sized burger before the Japanese's amazed eyes, and he was quite sure no human stomach could contain this amount of food. "You know, Alfred-kun… It's not really healthy to eat this much… You might gain weight…"

"Don't worry about this!" Alfred said, sweeping the argument with his hand.

"Uh… If you say so…"

The young boy wiped his mouth and looked at his watch. "When did you say you had to be back?"

"At five."

"Shit," Alfred cursed. That leaves us less than an hour, we won't be able to see much!"

"That's fine, we can see the rest tomorrow," Kiku said. Alfred gave him a large happy smile and Kiku realized he had just agreed to spend mor time with him. That wasn't what he wanted! He was supposed to be shy with strangers, what was with him today? Oh, well, Alfred wasn't exactly a stranger, he had talked about himself so much today Kiku felt like he knew him already like the back of his hand. Besides, what was there to know about a young hyperactive egocentric American teen who liked superheroes?

"Well, we should go check out the karting before it closes."

"A… Ano?" Alfred, already leaving, turned back to him. Kiku spoke shyly, eyes on the ground. "I'm feeling tired. If that's okay, could we maybe do something a little calmer?"

Alfred looked slightly confused for a second, but then his usual smile came back on his face. "Ok, I get it! Come on!" he said grasping his wrist.

He pulled him out of the fast-food and down the street, still talking about stuff. He got to a crossing, stopped and hesitated for a second before placing his hands over Kiku's eyes. Surprised, Kiku tried to protest but Alfred made him keep walking. They were going slowly but Kiku was patient. The American was a little too close for his comfort but it wasn't too bad compared to what had happened earlier that day. And it was nice from him to try and surprise him so he wasn't going to complain. And Alfred could be surprisingly delicate when he tried really hard.

He was blindly guided for a few minutes. He had to climb a few steps, go down a few more. A wooden floor resounded under his feet. And finally, Alfred stopped and took his hands away.

They were on the porch of a small Japanese lodge. A closed garden was laid before them, simple and elegant. Grass lawns alternated with pebble beds sparkling under the sun. Flowers and trees were growing here and there, adding a pinch of joy in the delicate landscape. A stream, in which one could make out koi carps, ran through the garden and a stone step-through led to a small traditional tea lodge…

A Zen garden. Kiku would never have dreamt of finding one on the campus. He loved to visit them with his parents when he was younger. They could spend the entire after-noon there, admiring flowers and silently drinking green tea. Alfred gave him a smug smile. "Is that calm enough for you?" he asked joyfully. "I never come here, but I thought you might like it since you're Japanese and all…"

"Indeed, I greatly enjoy this kind of place. Thank you for taking me here, Alfred-kun."

Alfred casually sat down on the lodge's steps and Kiku sat seiza-style. There was complete silence, only troubled by the discreet sound of water peacefully running down the stream. "What does that mean, "kun"?" Alfred asked after a few moments of silence.

"Oh? Uh… Is an honorific suffix." Alfred looked puzzled. "You put it behind a name to express respect or effection," Kiku patiently explained.

"Oh! Like those movies where students put "sensei" behind their teacher's name?"

"Um… Yes, that's it."

"But what does it mean exactly?"

"That we are friends, I suppose."

"Oh! And isn't there another one?"

"I don't think so."

"Then just call me Alfred, alright?"

"But…"

"Please!" Alfred whined. "My name sound weird with that word at the end!"

"Very well," Kiku gave up.

He didn't add anything, just taking in the landscape's beauty. Alfred quickly grew agitated, not used to so much silence. "It's boring here…" He said, yawning.

"It's not meant to entertain," Kiku explained.

"Say," Alfred said again after a bit more silence. "You talk weird for a teen. Do all Japanese people talk like this?"

"Not really," Kiku said hesitatingly. "I am aware my speech is very elevated, however this is the way I as raised by my parents. They enjoy tradition, so I always had to respect the keigo when I talked."

"Ah, they sound super old-school, even if I don't know what the keigo is! My mom's kinda like that too, she keeps telling us about native Americans and whatnot at home. But apart from that it's okay, she's cool. And as long as she lets me play video games, I don't care that she talks about it that much."

"My parents hate video games," Kiku breathed. "And mangas and animes too. They say those things corrupt our youth."

"Well you must be happy they're not on your back anymore since you do like it!" Kiku didn't say anything. "Well yeah, since you were at Miss Suzuki's, you must like that right?" Alfred kept saying. The Japanese boy needed a moment before agreeing silently. There was silence again but Alfred broke it. "What other su… fi… xes? Are there? In Japanese?"

"There are many : dono, sama, tama, koi, pôn, san, chan…"

"Oh, that one is super cute, "chan"!"

"Ah, yes, you use it for…"

"Oh, it would sound great with your name!"

"What? But…"

"No, really, listen : "Kiku-chan". Sounds much better than "Alfred-kun", right? Oh, that's probably because your name is Japanese as well, so it sounds much better than an American name?"

"Certainly but it's not…"

"Ok, I'll call you this, now!"

"Ah, please don…"

"Oh, shit!" Alfred swore as he took a look at his watch. "We're just chilling but we're barely gonna be to the meet-up point on time! We really gotta go!"

"Alfred, please…"

"Here we goooo! Yoohoo!" Alfred grasped his friend's arm and started to run, dragging along the Japanese boy whose legs were barely waking up and who was desperately trying to explain why he didn't want to be called Kiku-chan. When they got to the meet-up mark, Luna and Romulus were grouping up the first year kids for a new walk in the park. Alfred let go of an almost asphyxiated Kiku among his classmates before hurrying up to the bus about to leave.

"See ya later, Kiku-chan!" he chirped before climbing into the vehicle. He avoided the row where an English boy with messy hair and a French boy with bruised eyes were glaring at each other with such an intensity there were some bets on who was going to jump on the other and when, and walked to a free seat. A unusually comfortable seat. A stuffed polar bear watching through the window hinted at the problem after a few minutes, more than the angry muttering behind his neck. "Whoops, sorry Matthew! I didn't see you!" he said, getting up and laughing. He sat on the next seat. The teddy bear disappeared, which meant Matthew had just taken it in his arms. "Your heroic big bro has spent his day taking a poor shy and friendless little Japanese boy on a tour around town!"

"Good job, Alfred," Matthew whispered, unfazed.

"What about you? What did you do?"

"Oh, nothing much…" he said. If he was visible at that moment, Alfred probably could have noticed the slight blush appearing over his brother's cheeks.

* * *

Kiku was about to commit suicide. Why, of all suffixes he could have liked did he have to choose "chan"? For God's sake, he wasn't a girl! He could have at least listened to him! Really, saying this like that, in front of everyone! "Yoohoo, Kiku! Ve, you're all red, are you feeling okay? You don't have a fever, do you?"

Kiku looked up at Feliciano, the Italian boy who was trying to make him laugh that morning. He shook his head, too mortified to talk. His classmate, relieved, started telling him about his day at such a rapid pace Kiku only caught a little.

"And then I gave him a piece of my chocolate pastrie. And since we didn't know what to do, Gilbert said we should go bowling. I wanted to see the beach but the sun was hot and Gilbert is albino, you know, he's super pale, so we couldn't. We've spent the day bowling, it was awesome! Even fratello liked it, and for lunch we had a pizza gigantesca with tons of tomato and olives and mozzarella and ham and tons of other good stuff. Gilbert did strikes all the time, he's really good at it! Ah, but one time he knocked something and he let go of his ball. Fratello and I, we hadn't done a lot of bowling before so we weren't great at it but Ludwig showed me how to move my arm (it really annoyed fratello but I don't know why) and, since I couldn't do a strike myself he did one for me! And then since fratello was sulking Antonio showed him too. And then fratello hit him because it didn't work. But he was still very happy…"

Kiku didn't know what impressed him most : how the Italian's lungs managed to work while he was talking or the fact that, by telling him so much, he could almost make him forget about the shame he felt from earlier. He started to feel some sort of pain in his jaw and wondered where it came from. It took him several minutes to realize that today had been the most smiling he'd done for a very long time.


	6. First lesson, first fuck-ups

_Sweat was running down his back, leaving a long icy trail. His chest was wrapped in an iron grip, and helicopter blades_ _were desperately trying to dig themselves a passage out of his stomach. His legs could barely carry him, and wouldn't even think of walking. His father's hand on his shoulder was the only thing reminding him of moving in the noisy corridor, behind the dark skinned woman._

 _He wasn't scared._

 _He was terrified._

 _He hadn't chosen to be here. If he had any say in it, he would have become a hermit and hid in the depths of the Chinese countryside for the rest of his life. He did not want this school. He didn't not want those classmates. He was a real danger for everyone, and they wanted him to live among a hundred potential victims. Best. Idea. Ever. It was about as wise as giving a kindergartener an armed grenade._

 _He didn't know what his parents had believed to think even one second that coming here would solve his "problem". For now, all he hoped was that the kitchen only used electricity. That nobody would light a candle or a fireplace in his presence. And that he'd remember not to use the lighter he preciously kept in his pocket._

 _He vaguely heard the young woman speak with his parents before they left. They looked a little worried, but mostly relieved. Probably because they could finally get away from their freak of a son. He felt anger rising. He bit his tongue, tried to calm down. Stay zen. He couldn't take it out on them for being scared of him. He was dangerous, it was normal to be afraid._

 _She smiled at him kindly before turning around and leaving. She had other kids to greet. He waited until she disappeared around the corner to open the door to his new bedroom._

 _His blood froze cold when he realized there were two beds, and someone was currently reading, lying on one of them. A roommate? Really?_

 _It was a pale giant with cinder hair. The bed looked almost too small for him. He was wearing the school's uniform with a scarf. This imposing appearance was completely contrasting with the tiny little book he was holding delicately in his hands. The title was Russian but the cover was decorated with a beautiful drawing of a bird with long burning feathers._

 _The giant looked up and stuck his purple gaze into his brown eyes. A small content smile was settled on his lips and didn't seem to want to leave anytime soon. "Hi!" he said as he put his book down._

 _He stood up and stretched. Now Yao had to look up to see his face. High up. It wouldn't be as intimidating if the Russian wasn't as large and if his little smile wasn't this creepy. Yao had had to deal with big guys like him but this one had something scarier, like some sort of dark aura surrounding him. It was fascinating in some way. "You are my new roommate, da?" he said like nothing was wrong._

 _Yao nodded. He wasn't going to show he was afraid. At least, now he could focus on him rather than on his fear of screwing up during class. The giant had a small laugh that sounded too innocent for his strong built._

" _I hope we'll be very good friends! I'm Ivan, you?"_

" _Yao."_

 _His head tilted to the side, without losing his smile. "Yao sounds nice." He laughed again. It sounded like the amused giggle of a child noticing their hamster is trying to leave its cage. "It sounds like a cry of joy," he said softly. "Yao! Yao! Like a party!"_

" _Um… Thanks?"_

" _You're welcome."_

 _Yao was growing more and more awkward. The talk sounded strange. The voice of the giant named Ivan was too light, too delicate, too childish. And cute as hell. But it didn't fit the body it belonged to._

 _Ivan walked up to him and held his hand out. For a handshake, occidental tradition. Slightly hesitant, Yao shook it. His skin was strangely cold, in spite of the warmth of the room. The Russian frowned worriedly. "You're hot."_

" _What?"_

" _I mean you look like you have a temperature."_

" _Oh… No, really, I'm fine."_

" _Ufufu, good!"_

 _They let go but the cold stayed for a few moments inside Yao's palm. Ivan was staring attentively behind his innocent face. It was impossible to know what was hidden under his calm little smile. "You are very, very cute, Yao-Yao," he said softly._

 _Yao chocked. "What?"_

" _I said you were very cute," he said again, calmly. He walked forth and caught his chin firmly. His smile grew more devilish as he steadily brought their two faces closer. "Say… Would you like to be one with me?"_

" _Wh… I… N…"_

 _Yao was doing his best but he couldn't pronounce a single word. His breathing picked up, and so did his heart as if it was trying to climb up his throat. His head started to spin slightly and he felt a hot flash flooding him as Ivan's icy hands laid upon his cheeks. His face was growing closer still. He was going to kiss him. "I'm… I'm not feeling very good," he said, retreating._

 _Surprised, Ivan stood back and his concerned face appeared again. "Yao-Yao has a fever after all!"_

" _I… No… I… I'm just hot… I just need some fresh air…" Yao turned around and hurried out. He needed to get out of here. Fast. He felt like it was important. He was going to locked himself up in the bathroom, wait it out…_

 _Suddenly, his legs refused to obey. They froze as he was about to walk out the door. Horrified, he looked down, only to find out his feet were trapped in two ice chunks stuck to the floor. He pulled and pulled and pulled but they wouldn't budge._

 _Ivan closed in behind him and laid his hand on his shoulders, gently. "No, my Yao-Yao won't run away this time…" whispered his sweet voice, drawing shivers out of the Chinese boy. Petrified, Yao watched as he placed himself in front of him with his toxic little smile. "If you are hot, Yao-Yao, why don't you take some of your clothes off?"_

" _No! No, no stop!_ Qǐng _!"_

" _What is it? Is my Yao-Yao hiding something from me?" His voice was still giving him shivers, filling him with terror and some other feeling he couldn't really describe. Yao was usually brave. But right now, he was literally frozen in place as Ivan slowly took away every piece of fabric covering him. "Yao-Yao is mine, right? So Yao-Yao shouldn't hide anything from me!"_

 _No! No, he couldn't see him! He should never see him like this! No, this was wrong! He couldn't see this! No way! No!_ No!

Yao's eyes shot open. He sat up. The room was dark, except for the time glowing red on the radio. Ivan shifted in the other bed, probably dreaming about sunflowers and vodka.

A dream. Just a dream.

He laid back down, hugging close his Shinatty-chan. But he couldn't go back to sleep.

Even in his dreams, that damn Russian should never, ever, ever find out about his stupid secret.

* * *

The PCD classroom was quite peculiar. As large as a small gymnasium, it was separated from the rest of the building by the playground's length. To get in, you had to cross two iron doors separated by an airlock. Just what you needed to feel awkward while entering.

The lessons used to happen in a normal classroom, inside the building. But several accidents, including but not limited to a fire, a flood and the emission of a smell of rotten egg in the entire building for several hours had convinced the principle it was necessary to take precaution measures. Just to make sure not everyone would die because someone sneezed at the wrong moment.

The floor was made of light wood that sounded like it was hollow when one stepped on it. "Like a dance studio," Lily shyly commented. The ceiling was high and, like a gymnasium, showed the girders carrying the roof. Tables and chairs were cast against the walls instead of being arranged in the middle as they would be for any kind of lesson. A door in the far left opened on a stockroom full of various objects, from simple paper sheets to baseball bats. There was also half a dozen fire extinguishers in a corner. Another door, opposite to the first one, led to a small projection room.

The first years were waiting, wearing the sportswear Luna had given them when they came in. Mei and Faustina were thoroughly biting their painted nails while Vash was talking his sister out of doing the same thing. Kiku was playing statues again, the Italian twins were getting rid of the stress by talking loudly with extensive gestures to anyone who'd listen, Feliks seemed like he was daydreaming, just like Tino whose arm Peter didn't want to let go of. Let's just say they were nervous.

Tension reached its peak when Luna came back from the dressing room, a file in hand. With a large smile, she gave them small sheets of paper and pens.

"Surname, first name, age and power if you know it. Oh, and everything I'd need to know if you have health issues. And please hurry."

Kiku, Vash and Peter started right away. The other kids shared incredulous looks. Seriously, even in a class about supernatural powers, they had to fill in information papers? According to Luna's serious look, they did.

"Like, that's lame…" Feliks sighed.

And for the first time, everyone agreed.

Eventually all the papers were done and given back to Luna. The young woman suddenly had a very scary smile and walked to the center of the room. "Good, now, you're going to run ten laps around the room! No slacking off! Then you'll do one sprinting, another one sidestepped, one heels high and one knees high. And when you're done, get in the middle so you can stretch, alright? Let's go!"

This time, the look they shared was stunned. But Luna didn't give anybody any time to whine and drilled their eardrums with a whistle she seemingly pulled out of thin air.

They started moving, with more or less enthusiasm. Kiku, as a student paragon, was doing his best and running like he was at the Olympics. At least for the first few seconds, for his mishandled body snapped at him and made him slow down. Tino looked like he had chosen to mother Peter and was encouraging him and helping him to keep up, which he managed pretty well. What the younger boy didn't have physically, he had in will. As for Vash, he was treating Lily like a porcelain doll and managed to encourage her while asking every three seconds if she needed to rest. Romano decided he wanted to look manly and tried to run in a cool way in front of Mei and Faustina, but he tripped and ate the floor. When he got back up, pouting as red as a tomato, the two girls giggled and said he was "just so cute", which achieved to make him depressed. And Feliks and Feliciano had started talking about pasta, fashion and ponies when Luna chased them with her whistle to force them to go faster.

It wasn't even a warm-up. Luna was pushing them to their limits, making them run as much as possible. When she'd notice one wasn't about to collapse from exhaustion, she'd give them one more lap to finish them. Once they were done, exhausted, extenuated, dead to the world, the teenagers fell to the ground to stretch as Luna read their papers. Apparently, most of them had no idea what they could do. That wasn't helping, but at least the class would be fun.

"Alright everyone! Are you ready to start?" It was dead silent in the room. The few students still alive glared at her. A smirk showed up on her lips. Of course they didn't like it, but tiring them physically was the best way to wake up their capacities, while keeping them easy to control. The idea was to have a clear mind to focus on one thing at a time. "Well it looks good… We're making three groups. Kiku, Peter and Faustina, you're going in the corner by the main entrance. Feliks, Mei, Vash and Lily, go sit down by the projection room. Tino, Lovino, Feliciano, go wait for me by the stockroom."

The kids obeyed, too tired to protest. Tino almost had to carry the Italian twins all by himself. The two brothers looked like they were going to pass out.

* * *

Kiku, Peter and Faustina opened wide eyes when their teacher came back from the stock room with a large wheeled mirror and paper sheets. Luna caught her breath before explaining. "You three already know your own capacities. Looking younger, giving life to origamis and enter mirrors," she said, pointing at each of them.

The two boys gave the young girl an impressed look, which made her blush a little.

"You've found out about those capacities by accident, from intense emotions," Luna continued like it was no big deal. "That's the first step. Now, your goal will be to learn to use your power intentionally, which means without any outside disturbance. Questions?"

No one spoke.

"Perfect. Kiku, come here."

She sat the Japanese boy at a table and gave him a white paper sheet. "You are going to make an origami. Preferably something easy to animate, like an animal. Then you'll try to give it life through visualization. Can you do that?

"Uh… I think I c…"

"Good. Get to it." She left him with the paper, dumbfounded. Slowly, the Japanese boy tried to stay calm and started to carefully fold the paper into a crane.

After she left Faustina with her hands on the mirror's surface, trying to remember how to get in, Luna had to face Peter's enthusiasm as he looked up at her with eyes filled with hope. She knelt to his level, uneasy.

"Er… Peter? Listen… Your capacity is a bit peculiar so I'd rather if we worked on it together later. Is that alright?" At the little boy's disappointed face, she quickly added: "But I'd like you to help with the others for now. You'll be my assistant, how does that sound?" He nodded and forced a small smile. She felt sorry for him. She knew how much he wanted to get his old appearance back.

Suddenly, she had an idea. She called Lily and gave Peter a keychain. "Peter, I'd like you to bring Lily to the school library. Take the most interesting book you can find. When you're done, don't forget to close the door. Oh, and then, please go to the biology lab and ask Mr. Bondvik for a mouse."

"A what?"

"A mouse. You know, the little animal that has a long tail and likes cheese. Ask him for one. And specify that it has to be alive, alright? And if you could hurry, it would be perfect."

Peter and Lily shared a stunned looked before obeying.

Luna smiled as they left. Then she looked at Feliks, Mei and Vash and thought for a little while…

* * *

"DVDs?"

Luna happily nodded. The three students were standing in the projection room, unsure. Smaller, it looked a little more like a classroom. There was a projection screen in front of the tables, right above a DVD player already on. They heard Luna whine about "idiots who never turn the devices off after using them" as she slipped the first disk into the player.

"Wow, that's, like, awesome! We're gonna watch movies?" Feliks exclaimed as he sat on one of the desks.

Luna had an amused chuckle but didn't answer. Vash and Mei sat down as well, not as excited as their classmate. Luna turned the projector on, the light off and around after asking them to tell her if anything weird happened.

The three kids shared a look and focused on the movie.

Ten minutes later, terrified screams raised from the little room as the students watched the horror movie the teacher was showing them.

Now came the most difficult part. Luna headed towards Tino and the Italian twins who looked a little better. She gave them a shimmering smile as she walked to them.

"So, who wants to go first?" she chirped.

Tino immediately knew something was up and stepped back. Lovino also guessed what was going on and hid behind the Finnish boy. As for Feliciano…

"Ve! Sure, I do! What are we going to do? Pasta? Pasta sounds good!"

* * *

The three students were each tasked with something: Feliciano had to run around the room without stopping, Tino had to befriend the adorable mouse Peter and Lily had brought back, and Lovino just had to jump on one spot. Luna had then left, pretending she had to go get something.

After a few minutes, all three of them had stopped doing the exercises they deemed pointless. And since Luna wasn't back yet, they started chatting.

After about fifteen minutes of talking, they started to worry about their teacher being gone for so long.

The bell rang the end of the first hour, but still no teacher around. Kiku and Faustina were still focused on their exercises and the others were enjoying their movie with panicked screams. Peter was listening as Lily read her book out loud, in a corner.

After another half-hour of waiting, the Italians and the Finnish boy wanted to go see what was taking Luna so long, when suddenly everything went black.

Everything.

Even the windows that should have let some of the morning sunlight in were suddenly dark. Total darkness. The students could have sworn they had suddenly gone blind. Tino, Feliciano, Lovino, Lily, Peter and Faustina screamed as one. Kiku stayed calm, though.

The light slowly came back until the kids were surrounded by purplish darkness that reminded them of a haunted house. Lovino felt like he had to yell "WHAT THE FUCK IS GOING ON?!" just so he could express a little bit of his fear as his twin just clung to him, crying and calling for help.

Suddenly, red light exploded in the entrance, and a dark, menacing silhouette emerged from it. It had claws longer than Wolverine's, and as if that wasn't enough, it had a large butcher knife in each hand. Its face was hidden under a slenderman white mask and it wore some sort of long coat hiding its body entirely. It didn't let the student stare at it any longer and dashed towards the twins.

Lovino hid behind the first thing that could serve as a shield, which was a shaking Tino with a mouse in his hands. As for Feliciano, he ran away immediately. The thing followed him with heavy footsteps and terrible roars. Completely panicked, he rushed to the door which happened to be locked. Terrified, he started to run again, the monster following him.

As the creature was about the catch him and he thought he was about to die, probably more from asphyxia than from bloody murder committed by a killer monster, he was surprised when his legs started moving even faster without tiring him more. He didn't stop to ask why, though, and kept running faster and faster to try and get away from this menacing thing.

Realizing its target was fleeing, the creature stopped and turned to Tino and Lovino with a menacing glare. Paralyzed with fear, the two teenagers could only walk back against the wall as the monster closed in. Tino whispered a barely audible "help".

He had only just said this word when his mouse jumped from his hands and onto the masked monster's face to burry its teeth in its skin.

The thing let out a terribly feminine cry and fell over.

"Ouch! Ouchie! Ok, ok! Fine, I give up! Ouch, Tino, call your mouse back!"

The light came back immediately and everyone could see, instead of the hideous creature… Miss Luna Chrones, dressed in a long black coat, cardboard claws and plastic knives, fighting with a rodent that was trying to eat her face. A white hood had fallen to the ground. Everybody stared, stupefied.

"No really, get that thing off me, please!"

* * *

They needed a few minutes to strip their teacher from her horror show outfit. Back in her usual clothes, it was hard to believe it was the same monster who attacked them earlier. Apart for the teeth marks on her face, it was like she never even left.

"Uh… So, ma'am? Would you tell us why you did that?" Faustina asked, fists on her hips and angry faced, obviously upset.

"Ahaha, you didn't like it?" the dark skinned teacher said.

Silence.

"Uh… Ok…" She cleared her throat slightly and stretched her back before explaining with a clear voice. "It is difficult, nearly impossible, to trigger consciously the first manifestation of your power. Capacities usually stay dormant until puberty and only manifest, in general, as a reaction to a powerful emotion."

"It's really just like the X-men, then," Peter commented.

"… So I tried to use the emotions most easy to generate: fright and surprise. Normally, we shouldn't need more than three sessions for the whole class to know what it can do. This was already nice results!"

"Uh, nothing really happened…" Lovino grumbled.

When she heard this, Luna smiled. Nobody dared to move when she walked up to a table, grabbed a weird device from it and came back fidgeting with the screen. "Feliciano," she called. The boy walked forth with a distracted "ve". "What a nice sprint you did when I almost caught you."

"Vehehe, you scared me, ma'am!

"Precisely. Look at the speed it saved."

Curious, the Italian boy took a look at the screen and tilted his head, unsure. "Ve… Sixty kilometers per hour… Is that good?"

"It's more than the world record of speed. No human being can run this fast." Then, when she saw Feliciano's still concerned face, she added: "Yes, it is good."

"Ve!"

"Besides, this was the first time, by accident. If you train, you'll be able to run even faster.

"So that's my power? ... I would have liked something that helps making pasta more."

Luna chuckled at his slight disappointment, and then turned to Tino as he cuddled the mouse who tried to save his life. "Tino? Do you know why your mouse jumped on me earlier?"

"Uh… I think?" he said, hesitantly. "I asked for help and Aurajuusto…"

"Who?"

"Huh? Oh, that's its name, it sounds nice, doesn't it?" The Finnish boy smiled as he pointed at the mouse trying to climb his shirt.

"It is a nice name," Kiku said. "What does it mean?"

"Blue cheese!" the blond boy proudly said. No one dared to say it was weird. But they were thinking it really hard. "Anyway," Tino continued. "Aurajuusto felt I was in danger and protected me. Even if I'm not sure wh… Wait, that's my power? Being protected by little critters?"

"Well… Sort of? It works with other animals as well and…" Luna stopped, as the Finnish wasn't listening, all too glad about his capacity. With a sigh, she turned to the last kid in the group, which was none other than the sulking Lovino a few feet away. "However, I am disappointed your power didn't manifest," she said. "But I suppose we should play more on surprise for this."

"Ha! Good luck with that!" the boy mocked.

"Why?"

"I'm never surprised! You can ask Feli, he tries all the time and it never works!"

"Ve… You kinda jumped pretty hard, last time, fratello."

"Shut up, bastard, that's not because I was surprised, that's because… Whatever! I just don't get…"

"SURPRIIIIIIIISE!"

* * *

Antonio had been waiting in front of the PCD room for a while now. Luna had come earlier, in the middle of a chemistry lesson, and asked him to help her with what she called an "emergency". Well, he was bored right now, and he didn't know why he should stay and wait when he was done with what she asked him to do.

He opened the first door, and then the second one, pretty silently. Back in her usual clothes, Luna was explaining something to the students who listened attentively. Well, she probably didn't need him anymo… He spotted Lovino among the others and a little smirk showed up on his lips. He tried to get closer to the group without being noticed by his target.

Just a little joke, he could do that, right? After all, the Italian boy wasn't going to hold a grudge against him for this, right? Besides, he was so cute when he was angry, he looked like a big ripe tomato! Yes, tomatoes are very cute. Especially the ones that yell at you while growing even redder… Wait, tomatoes didn't do this. Oh well, whatever, he was almost there!

He heard Lovino bragging about never being surprised was he reduced the distance, as slow as a spy turtle. That was probably very cute as well, a spy turtle that is. He would have said a ninja turtle, but copyrights, besides "spy" sounds better. What was he thinking about again? Oh, right, it was fun seeing how proud the Italian boy was under his frail appearance. And it made tricking him all the more appealing.

He sneaked behind the brown boy as silently as possible and, after making sure he hadn't noticed him, he pinched his hips and yelled. "SURPRIIIIIIIISE!"

The joke worked better than expected. Lovino jumped up to the ceiling.

Literally.

One moment he had his feet on the ground. The next, he was flying fifteen feet above them and screaming. And he reflexively grabbed a girder holding the roof.

Antonio froze for a second. Then he turned to the teacher and said with a concerned face: "Oops?"

* * *

Everything was that idiot's fault! Everything! He'd throw his fist into that son of a bitch's face if he could let go of that girder! But for now he didn't know what he should do. He had wrapped all of his limbs around it and was holding on with desperation. _Don't look down_ , he thought. He knew all too well what would happen if he did. Everything would start to spin around him, he would close his eyes and start screaming and crying in spite of his Italian pride! It wasn't fair! Why did he have to be scared of heights?

And the other guy saying "oops"… Not but really. You say "oops" when you step on someone's foot, when you drop something at the grocery store, or when you start to flirt with a girl before realizing it's not a girl. But right now, "oops" was hardly appropriate. Because he was just showing how dumb he was and getting people into trouble! He heard Luna calling him from down below. "Lovino, are you alright?"

"Do I look alright, damn it? Help me the fuck ou…" Fuck… He just looked down. He felt the void calling him, his hands slipping from the beam. Reflexively, he gripped it even harder and bit his lip not to scream. He didn't want to know how he managed to jump this high. All he wanted was to feel the ground under his feet. Suddenly, he felt something change. He couldn't tell if it came from him or his perch but… Impossible! His hands and legs were digging into the metal beam!

"Lovino! Don't panic! Try to calm down or you are going to…" He wasn't even listening, trying to catch himself as well as he could. But every time he grabbed the girder, his hands dug into it even faster. It wasn't even deforming, his limbs were literally going through the matter! He was growing more and more terrified, and the more afraid he was the faster his arms and legs were losing their tangibility.

Sort of understanding what was happening, Luna turned to Antonio, an urgent glow in her eyes. The Spanish boy's eyes widened with fear. "I can't! It's way too far, I…"

"Antonio, we don't have a choice!" the teacher urged.

"But I…"

"Do it!"

Since talking didn't seem to do any good, the brown haired boy closed his eyes and focused. First, nothing happened. Then a transparent form, sort of like a glass dome, appeared right under the Italian. Antonio tensed, unfamiliar with such performances. He opened an eye to check on the young boy he was trying to save. "Okay, Lovi, you can let go," he said between clenched teeth.

"Don't call me Lovi, you bast… CHIGIIIIIIIIIIIIIII!" His hands just went through the beam and so did his legs. Antonio prepared for the collision but, instead of landing on his force field as he should have, the Italian boy went through it as well, as if there had been nothing there.

"¡Mierda!" Antonio dropped his focus and the dome disappeared. Only one solution now: he threw himself under the younger boy and caught him before he touched the ground. Well, actually, he tried to catch him and his body broke his fall. He felt a crack and a terrible pain when the Italian boy's body hit his.

Terrified, Lovino had closed his eyes and was only more surprised when he saw who he had landed on. He cried out and slapped the idiot crying from pain. "Why would you do that, dumbass?" he yelled, hopping mad.

Antonio didn't answer, and Lovino realized he had passed out. Concern overwhelmed him and he slapped him again, trying to wake him up. But as much as he yelled, hit, insulted him, he wouldn't open his eyes.

Around them, nobody dared to move, afraid of making the Italian even more angry. To everyone's surprise, it was Feliciano who gathered enough courage to go and pat his twin's shoulder. He turned around brutally but didn't do anything more. "Fratello…" Feliciano said softly. "You are going to hurt him if you keep hitting him."

Lovino didn't answer but didn't try to do it again. Luna chose this moment to escape her stupefaction. "Lesson dismissed! You are all going to help me bring Antonio and Lovino to the nursery!"

Lovino protested as the young woman held him under the armpits to help him up but repressed a pained whine: his right arm and leg had taken the whole impact and beautiful nearly black bruises where already spreading on them. He was surprised he hadn't felt them while abusing his savior.

His brother grabbed his healthy arm to help him as Kiku gently held the bruised one. The rest of the students helped Luna pick Antonio up and keep him in a horizontal position. Peter, too small, couldn't help anyone, so Luna called him and asked him to go find Raivis Galante, a second year student, in Math class. He immediately ran there as the students slowly carried the victims to the nursery.

* * *

"Hey, miss! Like, the movie's over and we totally flipped and it was, like, totally awe… Hey? Miss?... Like, they're totally gone!"

"Uh? But then what do we do?"

"Lily's not here either?! What the hell happened?"

"Well, maybe the lesson is, like, over?"

"…"

"…"

"So, what do we do?"

"You do whatever you want. I'm finding Lily."

"You know your sister is a big girl, right? She can take of hers… And there he goes… Boys…"

"Like, yeah…"

"But, aren't you a boy too?"

"Yeah, so what?"

"Nothing…"


	7. The nurse is watching you

Svetlana had a lot of visits, during the first weeks of class. When students got too curious, accidents were fast to happen. Not that she complained. She liked her job with all her heart. Fortunately, the first days were supposed to be slow. It wasn't cold enough for kids to be ill, and the older ones weren't too careless with their capacities. As for the new ones, they were still finding them out and were mostly warry of them.

That's why she was waiting calmly in her office, a good old-fashioned magazine on her laps and a bit of Tchaïkovski in the background. It was a peaceful morning. It was almost time for recess and, if she was lucky, her three adorable kids would come by, say hi and tell her about their first class of the year. History, if she remembered correctly. With that new teacher who looked, truth be told, quite charming…

Three knocks at the nursery door pulled her out of her thoughts. Oh? There couldn't already be an injury after less than two hours of class, right? Ah, maybe one of the last years had sprained their ankle during PE, that was plausible. Intrigued, she set her magazine down, stood up and opened the door. She wasn't expecting what she saw.

"Uh? Are you bringing me a corpse?" A line of students came in, carrying Antonio's still body. He was a fourth year student if she remembered correctly. Luna was guiding them, holding up the poor boy's head. Behind them, two students were helping around a small brunet uttering a stream of insults that grew more vulgar by the second. His right arm was covered in bruises. "Oh my… Luna, I know your methods are efficient but don't you think this is getting a little bit out of hand?"

Luna gave her an uneasy sorry smile. Svetlana sighed but her nurse instinct quickly took over. She guided the troops so that they'd carefully set down their burden on one of the nursery's beds. Feliciano and Kiku let go of Lovino on another one, next to the first. Then, the middle-aged blond woman shooed the entire class out with big waves of her arms, asking for space so she could work correctly. Only Luna was allowed to stay, and that was because she was a co-principle.

Svetlana took a stool and went to sit between the two boys. Lovino had lied down and wasn't talking anymore but anyone could have noticed the way he kept glancing concerned looks at the Spanish boy. The nurse slightly peeled off Antonio's shirt and carefully placed her hand on his stomach. Her eyes immediately widened with astonishment. "Two broken ribs and internal bleeding! Do you think I'm a magician?! I give diagnosis, I don't make miracles! And Raivis is still in class… Havens, did you use this boy as a trampoline?!"

"That's not at all what fucking happened!" Lovino exclaimed from the next bed.

Svetlana pouted and slapped him a little. Not very hard, just what was needed as a warning. "Watch your language, duckling," she reproached.

Lovino blushed up to the roots of his hair but just grumbled about all those "fucking people that kept giving him stupid nicknames". Svetlana sighed, took her hand away from Antonio's stomach and raised his legs with a couple pillows. Then she started opening her patient's shirt, without taking it completely off so that he wouldn't move any more. She set the fabric apart, exposing the Spanish boy's torso. Around the first ribs, there was a large purplish black zone, excessively swollen. Lovino's eyes grew larger with horror and tried to look away, which caught the nurse's attention.

"Nice work, huh?" she mocked. "Was that your fault?"

"What? No, it wasn't my fucking fault!" the Italian yelled. "H-he's the one who's just so dumb he fucked up, damn i…"

He was interrupted with a slap. "I told you to mind your language, you wolf cub," she scolded softly.

Vexed, Lovino tried to turn around and let out a pained yelp: he had forgotten about his own bruises. Svetlana raised an eyebrow and turned to him to examine the injuries. She let go with a relieved sigh: there was nothing too urgent. She started petting the rest of the Spanish boy's body, making sure there was nothing else.

"You should have come and get me, it's dangerous to move someone in that state! The bone could have moved and make even more damage and… Goodness, we really need to do something about the internal bleeding…"

"I've sent someone to get Raivis, he shouldn't be long," Luna assured as she read a magazine on her chair.

She had barely finished her sentence when the door bounced against the wall and a young blond boy rushed in, panicked, breathless and shaking like strawberry jellow. Peter was following behind. "I-I came as fast I possible!" he stuttered with a voice as frail and shaking as him. "P-Peter told me it was urgent! Who's h-hurt? I-is it bad? Should I…"

"Stop! Raivis, calm down!" Svetlana ordered firmly. Raivis shut up immediately. "Good little sparrow…" she started again in a softer voice. "Antonio has internal damage that we imperatively need to stop. We'll see the ribs next, if you can manage."

The young boy nodded and came to sit next to the nurse. His gaze suddenly changed as soon as he saw Antonio's purplish chest. From worried and hesitant, he seemed to gain confidence and carefully placed his hands were the bone was broken.

He stayed there, unmoving, for several minutes, focused on his task. Svetlana was monitoring what he was doing and guided him from time to time, whispering advice into his ear. Peter and Lovino couldn't look away. It was fascinating. As for Luna, she… was doing crosswords. She seemed to trust the Lett.

Slowly, under the student's captivated eyes, the swelling was reduced and paled until it was completely gone. Raivis blinked, took his hands back as well as a deep breath and slumped back into his chair. He looked like he had just ran a marathon but a relieved smile had settled on his lips. Svetlana checked his work with an expert hand. Her fingered barely touched the Spanish boy's skin before a glad expression settled on her face. He immediately threw herself at the little Lett to strangle him… Ah, no, sorry, she was just hugging him.

"Good job, my little sparrow! You usually do quite well but that was perfect! I'm so glad I have such a good assistant!"

Lovino smiled mockingly at the poor boy whose lips were turning blue from the lack of air. Svetlana really seemed to love him. Raivis was only saved by the recess bell that reminded everyone time was still turning.

"Good job!" she said again as she let go of him. "You can go and rest now…"

"Ehi, aspetta!" Lovino cried out. "What about me?"

Svetlana turned to him with a large scary smile. "Raivis cannot heal continuously, he needs some time to rest," she explained. "So you'll stay here! You don't have any more classes anyway for now, isn't that right, Luna?"

The Lett send a poor smile at the Italian who started angrily cursing again before the blond woman started scolding him about his language again. He opened the nursery's door to get out… cried out with terror, shut it closed again and rushed to hide under one of the beds. Svetlana didn't payed the slightest bit of attention, but it did make Lovino shut up as he wondered what kind of scary monster could be behind that door.

Then the door opened again and Ivan came in with both his sisters.

Svetlana immediately stopped scolding Lovino so she could go hug her "baby bear", her "little stork" and her "sweet dove". Lovino briefly wondered why she kept giving nicknames to everyone but chose to give up when he realized the nurse was the mother of the Russian and his sisters.

"Skazi mne, mama?" Ivan said when he noticed the occupied beds. "What happened?"

"Nothing, just an accident during Luna's lesson. Raivis just took care of it."

"Oh, but where is he?"

At this point, Raivis had almost reached the door, crawling under the beds. Katyusha noticed him as he discreetly tried to reach the door handle. He made sure nobody was watching and quickly opened the panel so he could escape. Raivis gave her a thankful smile before running away as fast as he could.

Ivan looked for him for a few moments more before declaring he still had to congratulate him and left as well, followed by his two sisters.

* * *

When Antonio opened his eyes and felt the terrible headache starting to drill into his temples, his first reaction was to check if he still had his pants on. Because if we woke up with such a migraine, it had to mean he had drunk himself to sleep with the rest of the trio last night. And although he loved his friends, he knew from experience that when one of them was drunk, you had better watch your butt, both literally and figuratively.

When he was certain he was still a virgin, he could finally notice he was in a bed, at the nursery, and Lovino was watching him mockingly from the next bed. He was smirking, which was rather a bad omen, knowing that the only time the Spanish had seen him smile was when he smashed his own foot with a bowling ball two days ago. So he must have been in a very bad state. Antonio proceeded to check his body again, making sure everything was relatively normal and, apart from his headache, everything seemed in order. "What is it, Lovi?"

"Nothing. You looked like you'd lost something so I was wondering what it was, and then I realized you were still looking for your own brain, dumbass."

"No, I was checking I still had my… Whatever. Why am I here?"

"Because you're a fucking idiot and that's still incurable."

Antonio was going to ask for clarifications but when he opened his mouth he suddenly remembered everything that had happened. So he stayed still with his mouth open as his brain tried to take in the situation correctly, which make made him surprisingly alike to a fish agonizing on a rock under a scorching sun. A brown fish with very sexy green eyes, but still a fish. "Dios mio, Lovi! Are you hurt? Are you okay? Are you…"

"Shut up, bastard. Yes, I'm hurt, you shithead!" the Italian boy grumbled, pointing at his right arm and leg, covered in ice packs. "And because of you, we could have both gone down, idiot!"

Antonio blinked with a surprised look. "Because of me?"

"Are you being this dumb on purpose? First, you had to fucking scare me, which got me in deep shit in the first place, but then you were dumb enough to ran under me and break yourself two ribs! So yeah, damn it, it is your fault! What would I have looked like if you were dead, huh? You really are just a fucking bastar…" Lovino stopped. Antonio had placed a hand on his mouth and another one on his stomach, and was shaking like he was having an attack. The Italian boy thought he was about to throw up and was about to call for help from Svetlana, who was doing god-knows-what in the corridor, when he realized the Spanish was just laughing to death. "Mind sharing what's so fucking funny, bastardo?!" he snapped.

Antonio needed a moment to answer, desperately catching his breath. But each time he would look at Lovino, he would start laughing again, which made the Italia really confused and really pissed off.

"Are you going to tell me what wrong with you, cazzo?"

"Hahahaha… Ho… S-sorry… Lovi…" he managed to say between two fits of laughter. He needed a few more minutes to calm down, and when that was over he explained : "I'm just so happy you are okay."

Well, actually, that wasn't the real reason but he wasn't that keen on telling Lovino what he'd really think about! He had noticed that Lovino, as a perfect Italian, talked with his hands a lot. Except, because of his injuries, Lovi could now only move one arm when he wanted to tell something, which was extremely comical. What was worse was that he was moving twice as much when he was mad. And the icing on the cake: the Spanish had dared to wonder what would have happen if both his arms couldn't move. Would he stop talking altogether? Or would he talk with his feet? To sum it up, it was difficult to stay serious when thinking about this!

Besides, he wasn't lying when he said he was happy he was okay. He would have been really upset, had the younger boy been more hurt, not to mention he was the one to start everything with his prank. Well, he couldn't know Lovino could make over fifteen feet jumps. But that wasn't an excuse. At least, is explanation seemed to pass, which was good! Besides, now Lovino had gone quiet and kept blushing like a cute tomato. He cursed a lot but he was still so adorable, always being so shy!

There was a moment of silence before Antonio decided to spark the conversation again. "Did Bella come by while I was sleeping?"

Lovino send him a dirty look that you could easily translat with "Why are you talking about this now, bastard?" and answered with a blank tone: "She was there for like three seconds at recess, and then the nurse threw her out so that you'd rest because you looked like you went under a bus. She said something with "regeneration" in it, but that's all I understood. Your girlfriend is a tough one though, she tried to get in through the window. I think she wanted to give you something."

"Aw, that's my Bella! So nice!" Antonio giggled, blushing with joy.

Lovino sent him a long glare that said a lot about what he thought about his love life. Then he looked away, bored. "Yeah, I guess she looks pretty good…" he commented half-heartedly.

"Doesn't she?!"

"You two look so lovey-dovey together." A slight smile peeked out from his lips as traces of amusement seemed to overgrow the annoyance. "Every time you guys are together you are so sweet it gives me fucking cavities!"

Antonio's laughter grew a little less cheerful. "Right, we like to act like an adorable little couple…" You could almost hear the "but" at the end of his sentence. Which teased Lovino's curiosity as he turned to him, waiting for him to continue. "Let's just say it's complicated!" Antonio eventually said with one of those dumb smiles that made Lovino want to stick his fist into his face.

The young man was lucky the younger boy couldn't leave his bed. There was another moment of silence. "So, what time is it?" Antonio asked.

"No clue…" Lovino grumbled. "La signora Braginskaya said I could stay here until noon and I should feel better by then but there isn't a fucking clock in this room…"

"Untill noon, huh?" Antonio repeated pensively. "Well then, I'll keep you company!"

"No need to do this, asshole!" the little brunet immediately reacted.

"Of course there is, Lovi! I'm not going to leave you alone when I'm the reason we're here in the first place, right?"

Lovino was red as a tomato and could find anything to say. Thankfully, an angel saved him : "Say, you little bull, do you think this is a hotel?"

The boys jumped when Svetlana raised in front of them. She didn't look like it but she could be very sneaky. "You are awake, which means you rested enough! You are healthy so no way you are missing another lesson!"

"But…"

"T-t-t-t-t! No buts! Don't tell me you were planning on skipping philosophy?"

"Uh…"

"Sorry, honey hen, but tricks don't work on me! If you leave now, you'll be there in time for the second hour. Come on, get up!"

And without listening to his protests, she threw the Spanish boy out of the nursery. Lovino wasn't exactly sure how he should have felt when the blond woman turned to him with a huge smile.

"But since I know you might be lonely while waiting for your bruises to clear up, I found someone in the corridor that doesn't have any lessons and who'll keep you company for the time being!"

Lovino raised an eyebrow and Svetlana pushed the nursery door once more. The Italian's blood freezed.

"Ciao fratello!"

"Santa merda…"

"Language, baby chick!"

* * *

The rest of the week was spent with any really noticeable event.

Romulus made a scene at Luna when he learned what had happened to his son but she managed to calm him down. The fact Raivis had managed to get rid of his bruises before he left the nursery had helped a lot.

Lessons went by like normal lessons. Well, knowing the weird character of some students and teachers, there were some… troubling moments. Fortunately, most teachers were now used to making kids obey, and the new History teacher didn't have that much trouble being listened to. Not to mention he behaved a lot better than he had before with his female students. Thing was there weren't that many and most had either an older sibling or a protective boyfriend. Add to this very interesting powers and you could understand messing up with those women buds was not a good idea!

He had gotten the idea when the classroom floor literally turned into an ice rink after he complimented Katyusha on her good answers and her charm. He had slipped while trying to get back to the black board and Ivan had told him, with an absolutely terrifying smile, "is everything alright, professor?" generally, a good teacher doesn't let himself be intimidated by his students. But Romulus had decided maybe it was best not to push it…

On Wednesday, during the two hours of personal time, Luna summoned some students in the PCD room. She wanted to make sure everyone would get to the same level as fast as possible, which meant she had to make it so everyone knew what they could do. She received complaints from the three students she had forgotten in the classroom on Monday, but she didn't really care.

So, after a number of tries, she managed to scare Feliks bad enough that the white balls he was tasked with holding in his hands took dozens of different colors. The Polish boy thought that was "like totally cool", to be able to change things' color, and that same evening he trained with all the furniture in his room, much to Toris's dismay, as he now had to sleep in a bed with red wood, green sheets and yellow blanket because his roomie still didn't control his power well enough to choose the color he wanted to make. However, nobody else found anything.

* * *

Free time hours weren't the most intense, that week. Clubs were waiting for the subscription day to start the annual projects. So they just did little workshops without any real importance. A lot of kids, as well as the new ones, just wanted to relax. The bravests took advantage of the remains of summer heat to use the outdoor sport facilities. Others were hanging out in the playground, the corridors, or even on the roof despite the fact it was strictly forbidden. That was the place you could be certain to find Francis, Antonio and Gilbert when they weren't where they were supposed to be. The Bad Touch Trio, as they liked to call themselves, used that place as headquarters. And everybody knew. Even the principles had given up on keeping them away from there.

That Friday afternoon, the three young men had gotten up on the roof after starting the fourth best paper ball fight the history classroom had ever known, all without the teacher knowing where all the attacks were coming from. They were still laughing about it. They had perfect synchronicity, they all knew from instinct when to start and when to stop so that the teacher didn't find them out.

"Did you see Vargas's face when the bell rang?" Gilbert snickered as he dropped himself in his usual spot, in the shade of the staircase.

"He looked like he was about to strangle the whole class!" Francis laughed as well, gently brushing his fair locks with his fingers.

"Another _éxito_ for the Bad Touch Trio!" Antonio sang as he grabbed the guitar hidden behind the electricity room.

He tried the strings and started to improvise a melody his two friends followed, clapping their hands and stomping their feet in a cheerful cacophony. They all invented lyrics in their own language, to the point it was impossible to figure out what one was saying out of all the powerful musical mess.

"Vargas, Vargas, t'es tombé sur la mauvaise classe~"

"Somos jóvenes y muy orgullosos, muy orgullosos!"

"Das Bad Touch Trio gewinnt! Denn wir sind genial!"

When none of them knew what to scream along anymore, Antonio finished with a solo that would have done wonders in a rock show and yelled "GRACIAS GENTE!" as France whistled and Gilbert pretended to be the delirious crowd. Then they threw a fit of laughter and couldn't say anything for several minutes.

"We should try writing those songs down, sometime," Gilbert finally commented when he managed to at least look a bit calmer.

"You're the one in the music club, you can just take blank music sheets."

"Real funny, you think Princess-Roddy would let me?"

The albino got up, circled his eyes with his fingers like he had glasses and took an offended face. Then he declared in a high-pitched voice in which you could make out a slight lisp: "The music room equipment is reserved for lessons and music club practice only! It is out of the question you will use it for personal projects such as a mere rock band! And I will ask you to cease your affectations, you poor fool!"

Francis and Antonio fell over from laughing at the perfect impersonation. Gilbert couldn't hold it either and laughed with them.

"We could also buy some," Antonio offered.

"Yeah, but that's no fun."

"Ah, fine then."

Slowly, everyone started doing whatever then felt like. Antonio was taking care of his guitar, Gilbert was playing a game on his phone, and Francis was taking in the view, humming. It often happened that they were together without a real discussion. They just liked the company of the other two, but didn't need them to put their noses where they didn't belong.

"By the way, Cici, weren't you supposed to be at the cooking club, right now?" Antonio said.

"Well weren't you supposed to be at the sport club?"

The two principles, the Chrones sisters, gave almost as much importance to distractions as the did to studies. That was why every Saturday held a special event. It could be a party, a competition or a show the students put up.

This Saturday, though, was the club subscription day. The time to recruit new members and to show off how cool your club was compared to others. So of course there was a lot of work before the big day.

"Oh, you know, I don't really feel like getting yelled at by Eliza. She wants a game tomorrow, fine, I'll do it. But if I'm just here to put the stuff away, then I'll pass, amigo."

"That's not very _galant_ , Nini. A lady deserves…" Francis stopped. Gilbert was laughing at him.

"Sorry Don Juan, but Eliza isn't what I call a lady."

The blond boy didn't know what to answer and gave up.

After several minutes of silence, gilbert paused his game. He looked thoughtful.

"Hey, guys, is there some sort of illness that makes you trip all the time?"

"Why are you asking that now?" Antonio said, absent-mindedly.

"I don't know. Just been falling over nothing for several weeks. Well, it happened sometimes before, but not that much. So?"

"What do you want me to say, Gigi? You can't move your feet right, that's all!" France said with a fake dramatic sigh.

Gilbert laughed and furtively left the shade to give a friendly punch to the French boy mocking him. "No but really," he pushed, putting his albino skin away from the deadly laser again. "Getting worried, guys."

"Relax, amigo. You're not sick, otherwise someone would have already told you. Remember where we are."

"Yeah but… Oh well, I'm so awesome I can't get sick anyway!"

"That's the spirit!" Francis joked. "Besides, maybe you're just being spied on by the invisible man!"

A noise caught their attention nearby. Close to the staircase door, a white teddy bear had just fallen on the ground and was vaguely protesting. The three young men stared at it for a few seconds, dumbfounded. Then it suddenly disappeared and quick footsteps could be heard tumbling down the stairs.

The silence was such that you could hear the jocks yelling from the football field, a good half mile from there. The trio shared a look. "Or you got a stalker," Antonio finished.


	8. Club day

_Lovino smiled as he stopped talking for a few moments, bringing to his lips the delicious Sicilian wine he had ordered. The young girl in front of him was admiring him with devotion, holding onto his every word. He kept speaking with the charming tone he kept for beauties such as her. She was beautiful indeed: short brown locks like dark chocolate slivers, held back in a messy bun, large green eyes with thick, perfect eyelashes, tan skin like she just came back from summer vacation, full, playful lips adorned with lip-gloss, an incredibly sexy Latin accent… Her face seemed familiar and she might be slightly older than him, but that was far from bothering him._

 _The light was slowly softening, the music was growing sweeter, languorous. He set his glass down and let his hand land delicately over the one his guest had innocently left near him. They weren't talking anymore, their eyes locked on each other. Lovino could feel his throat drying. As much as he liked to brag about his charm (this delightful creature was enough proof), it was the first time he would kiss a girl._

 _She went ahead first. She bent over the table, intertwining their fingers, and bringing their two faces closer. Lovino couldn't move. Slowly, she applied her tempting lips to the young boy's, silently asking to enter his mouth. He granted her access and their tongues found each other in a possessive ballet. It was simply magical. The best experience he ever lived…_

 _He heard someone talking to him. Far. Far away from the marvelous apparition offering herself to him. Maybe a waiter asking them not to do such things in the restaurant. He did not care, for now he only cared about those lips to which the gloss gave a taste akin to… tomato? This girl was definitely perfect._

 _Unfortunately, the person asking for attention was insisting. Couldn't they see he was busy doing something more important than paying the bill, really? The voice kept pushing, more distinct, more familiar. Lovino knew that voice. But he wasn't going to listen, no sir! He wanted that moment to go on, and on…_

Meeting the ground was a surprise. Lovino opened his eyes. No more chic restaurant, no more pretty girl, he was in his room and his brother was stuttering apologies, his blanket in his hands. And he had a bump on top of that. "Damn it, Feliciano! Would it kill you to have waited two more seconds?"

"Veeee… But, fratello…"

"I don't give a shit, okay? On week-ends, I'M SLEEPING! So give me a fucking break!" He went back to bed and stubbornly closed his eyes, ready to keep the act. Then he opened them again and looked at his brother. "AND GIVE ME BACK MY FUCKING BLANKET, DAMN IT!"

"B-b-but… Fratello… vee…" Feliciano didn't know what to do anymore. Lovino took the blanket from him and rolled himself in it until he looked like a giant burrito, then dropped himself on the mattress and snored exaggeratedly to let him know he was sleeping. Feliciano fidgeted with his hands for a few moments, then leaned towards his brother. "Lovino… You see, the cafeteria is closing in a half-hour and we won't get a breakfast if we miss it…" A grumble raised from him, which meant the argument was getting to him. Feliciano had a playful smile and leaned forward to whisper in his ear: "They say on weekends, they have sfogliatella…"

The Italian went completely silent and Feliciano's smile grew. He won. "Ok, I'll come…" Lovino grumbled in his pillow.

"Veee!" Feliciano chirped before running to his closet to get his brother some clothes. Because of course he could get up before his brother, especially when food was involved. So he was dressed already. However, when he turned back to the bed, Lovino was still tightly wrapped up in his quilt, silent. "Well? Aren't you getting up?"

"Yes, yes… I am, idiot…" A moment went by as Lovino struggled inside his blanket cocoon. They he stopped again. "Help me, dumb ass. I'm stuck…"

* * *

Of course, there were no sfogliatellas at the cafeteria. It was just the best way to get Lovino up when he was in a bad mood. Brother tactic, made in Feliciano. Thankfully, there were warm croissants and tomato juice. So Lovino wasn't in too much of a huff, despite the absence of his favorite pastry.

Now cam the hard part: convince Lovino to come and visit all the clubs with Feliciano for club day.

"I'm sure there is an art club!"

"I'm not coming."

"There is also a sport club, I saw them train."

"I'm not coming."

"Lud' told me his brother was in a music club. Wouldn't it be great if you could sing? I know you can do pretty well when you're trying!"

"… I'm definitely not coming."

"But… Fratello…" Feliciano had a disappointed frown. He had been looking forward to spending this day with his brother he loved despite his bad moods, his language, his manners and his hypocrisy… "Ve… I really don't wanna go visit alone…"

"That's your problem, you little shit."

"I'd ask Ludwig but he said he was the journalism club's captain…"

"…"

"So he's gonna be in the History room all morning…"

"…"

"Well, I guess I could stay with him for the moment! And then we'll go visit everything else in the afternoon, ve!"

"…"

"So I'll be with Ludwig all day! Isn't that neat?"

"… Okay, I'll come with you."

"Really?!"

Lovino nodded, looking like a man who'd just sentenced himself to death as Feliciano started dancing with joy around him. Well, it was still better than leaving his brother alone and vulnerable with the potato bastard.

* * *

"Oh… So you're interested in the delicate and refined art of gastronomy?" Francis winked at them and turned around for a second to start the oven's pre-heat timer. Romano took advantage of that time to stick two fingers in his mouth, showing his brother what he thought of the French boy. Feliciano refrained from laughing and tried to stay serious when Francis turned to them again with a large smile, ready to explain how delicate and refined his club was.

"Francis! Where the fuck is my loukoum pan?!" Sadiq yelled from the other side of the kitchen.

"In your ass, dick head!" Romano couldn't help himself from saying before the French boy could even open his mouth. He was bored as hell after all, so might as well have a bit of fun!

Francis pinched his nose bridge with a sigh of despair as the Turk boy looked up from the stove to see who had the nerve to talk back to him like this. "Third cupboard, Sadiq!" he called to calm his friend down.

"Ve, ve, Francis?"

"Yes?"

"Can I join your club?"

A large smile split the French boy's face in half. "But of course! The _cuisine_ deserves to be shared!"

"Ve!"

"However, you must know we demand quality skills."

"Ve!"

"If you wish to join, you will have to pass several quite strict tests to prove to us your gustative sensitivity and your culinary talents."

"… Ve?"

"Oh, and please keep in mind that if you believe yourself better than me in cooking, I would be glad to have a friendly fencing challenge with you, what do you say?"

"V-ve?!"

A few minutes later, Francis went back to making his apple-pear-cinnamon pie.

"So, any candidates, aru?" Yao asked from the corner furthest from the stove, kneading his future almond biscuits

"They changed their mind," Francis answered calmly.

* * *

"Fehu."

"Nope. That was Ansuz."

"Shit."

"Could you knock it off? I'm trying to make a decent page in the grimoire and you guys are not helping!"

"Sorry, Dylan."

"Boys, warn me when there is no more thyme! What do I use for my amulet, now?"

"Just take the verbena, Fiona. You could use it…"

"Are you saying I have emotional problems?"

"Uh… Yeah."

"Well, fuck you!"

"Guys, for a ritual against fatigue, do I use cinnamon or rose incense?"

"Neither, Arthur. Use violet, read the grimoire again."

"When the ink is dry!"

"I'm not an idiot, thank you very much!"

"And read the memory ritual again too!"

"And if you find one that helps get that stick out your ass, do it immediately, I'll even help!"

"Thank you a lot, Oscar, Allister, Dylan. If I find one that gives you a brain, I'll tell you…"

Feliciano and Lovino shared a glance. And then tip-toed back out of the Litterature room, promising to themselves they would not come back here after classes are over.

* * *

"Ah, hi boys!"

Mrs. Jones was there, paint brush in her hand, in front of her canvas. She stood up to greet the twins and they noticed her jeans covered in paint stains. The art room was quite empty compared to other clubs. Thankfully, the few students there were probably geniuses for the numerous works exposed on the walls and shelves were all beautiful.

"Are you here to join the art club?"

"I am!" Feliciano immediately chirped. "Romano, though…"

"Leave me out of this, dumbass…"

As his brother filled up the inscription chart with his name, class and signature, Romano took a look at the works. There was pottery, charcoal sketching, canvases, wood and stone sculptures, photography, models made out of trash. Everything. He looked down and saw three students that looked way too young to be here. The first one was a little girl wearing purple and a beret from which fell two long white braids. The second one was a little redhead with a fake scar across his face, and the last one was a little girl wearing a flower in her brown hair. They were all ten at most.

"They are the town's children," Aiyanna explained when she noticed Lovino's interest. "They come here to paint almost every Saturday. I wouldn't bother them if I were you."

Indeed, despite their young age, they seemed extremely focused on their respective canvases. Especially the white haired girl. Even if she was still just using a pencil, her drawing was already wonderful. And the two others were close behind. Lovino couldn't say he had such talent.

"Fratello! Fratello! Let's go!"

* * *

In the meantime, in the french room…

"Finally! I was wondering when you were going to join!"

"Oh, uh, sorry?"

Tino smiled a little. He had had lunch with the "Nordics" all week but he didn't know they were an actual club. At least, not until Berwald brought him here without asking like he always did… He really had to find some time to make things clear between them.

However, he really couldn't see what kind of club they were. The French room didn't have any real device, except for some empty closet nobody used. "Say, what kind of club is that?"

"Well we protect the school in the name of justice with incredible fu…"

"Forget it, he's being stupid," Lukas grumbled from his chair. He was reading, eyes as empty as usual, as his brother ate licorice sticks next to him.

"Actually, we don't do much. It's just a way of saying we're a group. Sometimes we talk, or we play board games…"

"Oh, okay. So it's kind of like a… friendship club?"

"Whoah, hey, that actually sound pretty good!" Mathias exclaimed. "A little lovey-dovey but it's cool!"

Tino had a small shy smile.

"Well there you go! Oh, and incase you were wondering, yes, I am the king of this club!" said the boy with spikey hair, attracting looks of pity from the rest of the club. He went and grabbed Lukas' shoulder with a large smile. "And this is my queen!"

Lukas calmly sat his book down, stood, looked at Mathias, kicked him in the legs, sending the Danish boy down, sat back down and went back to reading, all of this with a perfect self-control. Tino realized with a jump that he was already used to that kind of scene.

"So… If Mathias and Lukas are king and queen, what if Emil was the bishop, Berwald the rock and I would be the knight," he said, hoping to lighten the mood.

Berwald immediately sent him a terrifying look and Tino screamed, then apologized for saying something so… Whatever Berwald thought of it. But when he looked up, the Swedish boy was just surprised.

"Ya d'n't need t' ap'log'ze." He reached out and possessively pulled the finish boy close. Tino couldn't move. "I j'st thought 't was c'te."

* * *

During the week, when he had gone to get a book, Feliciano had wondered why the philosophy room's closet was full of sleeping bags. Now he knew.

"Feli! Lovi! Are you joining the siesta club?"

Antonio thought it was very funny to compare the brothers' reactions. As Feliciano had just tilted his head with interest, Lovino had crossed his arms, grumbled and looked away.

"Ve, siesta? It's a club where you can sleep?"

"Hum… yes, but not just that. See the guy over there, with brown hair?"

Yes, the guy fighting with the Turk they had seen at the gastronomy club a half-hour ago. Hard to miss him. Especially because he had just fallen asleep. In the middle of the fight. Fist up, ready to punch his rival. Rival that seemed on the verge of despair and just let the boy fall on one of the sleeping bag, waiting for him to wake up. Yes, they saw him.

"Well, that's Heracles, the club captain, he can make people fall asleep and control their dreams. Well, make them come into his dreams and control that."

"Oh, ok. What about the guys trying to kill him?"

"Oh, that's Sadiq, his roommate. They fight whenever Heracles is awake."

"Oh, okay…"

The boy didn't seem very patient. And Feliciano didn't really want to know why he was wearing a mask.

"So, as I was saying, we have collective dreams here, so we do pretty crazy stuff. Last time, we did sky-diving-canoe over Niagara Falls."

"That sounds awesome!" Feliciano exclaimed with stars in his eyes.

"It is! There is just one tiny _problema_ …" He turned to the greek boy Sadiq was trying to wake up by slapping him so they could start fighting again. "He's got narcolepsy. So we have to remind him to get us to sleep before he does. Otherwise it's pretty hard to get him to wake up…"

In the end, the Turk just let it go and left a small metal box on the greek boy's body before powerwalking away, looking pretty pissed.

"So, do you want to join?"

"Ve!" Feliciano confirmed.

* * *

"Ludwig! _Ciao! Ciao, ciao_!"

The German boy talking with Kiku had barely enough time to turn around before an overexcited Italian fell into his arms. He was starting to get used to his over-affectionate shenanigans and didn't complain when the little brunet snuggled up to him for his "good morning hug". However…

"Oh? _Ciao_ , Kiku!"

The Japanese boy almost had an attack when his adorable classmate threw himself at him and kissed him on both cheeks while holding him so tight he was pretty sure his lungs were going to spill out through his nose. "F-F-Fe-Feliciano-kun, p-p-p-p-please let me go."

Feliciana stepped back and Kiku tried his best to calm down. Since he got into the school, he was trying his best not to panic when someone stood a little too close or was a little too affectionate, but the Italian boy's surprise-hugs were just too much. It wasn't that he did not enjoy his company, he was probably the classmate that had been the friendliest to him so far. They just didn't think the same way. To Kiku, a hug or a kiss was an affection gesture between old friends or close family, shouldn't be done in public and meant deep feelings. To Feliciano, it was like saying "hi".

As soon as he had his fill of hugs, Feliciano starting telling them everything about his morning, especially detailing the way his brother had been accidentally put to sleep by Heracles when he had bet with Antonio that he could wake him up.

"So, Ludwig? How is it going? How many members does the journalism club have so far?

Ludwig hesitated for a few seconds. "Two."

"Two? Two that joined you, right?"

"No, we're just two." Facing the Italian's stunned face, he explained: "We were three last year, but they were on their last year. So yes, that leaves only me, and Kiku who just joined."

The boy turned to his Japanese classmate who nodded. "V-Ve?! That's horrible!"

"If we're organized, we can do a decent job."

"But you are all alone! Ve, it's too sad… I'll… I'll join!"

Ludwig's eyes grew huge. "You?"

"Yeah!"

"You are interested in journalism?"

Feliciano nodded vividly. "For example, _Papà_ has tons of very cool magazines with tons of pretty models and he has some he doesn't want me to read but that are probably amazing because he keeps them under his mattress so he won't lose them…"

"Not that kind of journalism…"

Feliciano tilted his head. "What kind, then?"

And Ludwig spent two hours explaining how the school's journal worked as Feliciano listened more or less attentively until he passed out on a table…

* * *

As for Kiku, he left the history room, quite glad he found a serious activity he could tell his parents about next time he'd send them an e-mail. They would probably be proud to know their son was part of the journalism club. And he was happy with it too. It was the best arrangement.

The day was only just beginning but the young Japanese boy knew he probably wouldn't join any other club. He had no particular talent for cooking, arts or music, had a feeble constitution that would not do any good in sports, and really didn't see the point in joining the "nap club". As for all the other clubs, they seemed more like discussion groups, which was of limited interest. Well, he could always give them a chance.

Actually, as he thought this, he walked by the geography room. The paper sheet taped on it said "student help club". Well this seemed quite honorable. Hesitating slightly, he stopped. What could be the harm in trying? He pushed the door.

Alfred was standing on top of a table and seemed in the middle of a longue explanation about the club's objectives as two or three students around him listened with more or less interested faces. "… And so, the goal is to show everyone how HEROIC our club is by doing our HERO duty all year round, which means helping students who… Oh, hi, Kiku-chan!"

Kiku sighed. He felt like some mischievous yokai was pushing him towards the most active student in the school all the time, just to f… mess with him. He gestured at Alfred to not pay him any mind and to keep talking.

"Oh, yeah, what was I saying? Right, helping students who have trouble with their lessons, or with other students. For example…" He pointed at Kiku and everybody looked in his direction. The young boy mentally slapped himself for not leaving as soon as he had walked in. "Making sure new students adapt smoothly, even when you have to help them personally! Every member of the club must act this way! That's the duty of HEROS!"

And he started laughing for no apparent reason. Kiku decided he had seen enough and left the room. He would not join this club.

He walked around in the corridors for a while. Sometimes, he'd step into a room to listen someone brag about their club's merit, but he would always leave unconvinced. Morning was almost over and he was sure there wasn't anything more to see. Maybe he'd better go find a seat at the library and wait for the afternoon's performances.

As he walked down the corridor, a detail suddenly caught his eye. A small book with a laminated cover, conspicuously sitting around a corner of wall. He approached, intrigued, and recognized the cover of the first tome of _Sekaiichi Hatsukoi_. His eyes widened and he quickly checked that nobody was watching. Thankfully for him, the corridor was currently empty.

He approached slowly, carefully, as if the combination of ink and paper might jump at him to bite his face off. Glancing around frequently, he bent forward and reached out for the manga… that flew a few feet away when he was about to touch it. Startled, Kiku fell forward and had to catch himself with his hands. He looked up to the spot the manga had slipped to, mocking him. He frowned. The _yokai_ playing with his nerves was at it again?

He stood up and, again, walked carefully to the manga that fled as soon as he tried to take it. Growing more and more surprised, he tried going faster to catch it but the small book just slipped faster out of reach. Defied, the Japanese boy ran after the manga, down the staircase and into the playground, until he saw it disappear into the PCD room.

Kiku hesitated to follow it inside. He could remember all too well the joke Luna-sensei had put up for them at the beginning of the week. He wasn't one of those who had really panicked but the experience still had its effect. If it was another joke trying to jumpstart some sort of power he didn't know about, he'd rather walk away now and lock himself in his room. But, on the other side, such a plan just to bring him here was intriguing. And it would be cowardly not to take the challenge.

After a few more moments of deliberation, he stepped into the room, curiosity stronger than prudence.

The room was empty. No manga around. Nobody either, nothing. Kiku took a few more steps, looked left and right. No, nothing at all. Well, there might be someone hiding in the stockroom, but that didn't seem as important all of a sudden. He chose to overlook the commotion he could here in the projection room and was about to walk away.

When his hands suddenly slapped themselves over his eyes. All by themselves. He tried to gain back control but it was impossible. As if some puppet-master had attached strings to his fingers and kept them firmly over his eyes to blind him. He heard the projection room's door fly open and a dozen people run towards him. They bonded his legs, as his hands still wouldn't budge, and took him away. He did not panic, waiting to know more about the situation in order to act consequently.

He was sat on a chair and strapped down. His arms were bound behind his back and he could see where he was. Apparently, he was brought into the projection room. His chair was placed before the projection screen. The shades were down, so it was quite dark. A silhouette was standing before him. It's wasn't easy to see it clearly in the dark but he could make out a skirt and long hair, which led him to think it was probably a girl. Or Feliks with a wig, but Kiku wasn't sure why Feliks would need to wear a wig. Whoever that was, her face was hidden behind a white, roughly cut paper mask attached to her head with a piece of string. The Japanese boy could also feel the less than silent presence of several other people behind him.

The young girl loomed over him. If she was trying to intimidate him, she wasn't trying hard enough, he wouldn't be scared with this.

"Kiku Honda, or "Kiku-chan"," she recited with a strange accent, something that sounded eastern-European. Kiku tried not to cringe. The nickname sounded strangely more insulting in another mouth than Alfred's. "First year student at Hetako Academy, aged fourteen…"

"Fifteen," Kiku mechanically corrected.

"… Fifteen, Japanese and gifted with "origami life"." She stopped, as if trying to raise the suspense. "You were seen on Saturday September 7th, at 1021, walking around the yaoi section of Mrs. Suzuki's store. According to our informants, you have reacted in an unusual fashion to the presence of boys-love posters on the walls."

She stopped and stepped back with a dramatic look to turn the projector on. The image that appeared on the screen was cut in half. The first half showed a perfectly unknown boy standing in front of a shonen-ai poster. Laos, according to the very crappy quality, the picture was probably taken a long time ago. The second half, however, was a lot more recent as it showed Kiku standing in front of the same poster. The other difference was the two boys' expression. While the lambda boy was very distinctly cringing, Kiku had a very attentive face, although quite neutral.

The young girl took a laser pointer and try to show something on the screen with the small red point. She was probably trying to look scientific and confident.

"Contrary to a male individual of your age, you haven't manifested any disgust. Instead, you have briefly shown a kind of fascination for this sort of art. Plus, we know from relatable sources that boys avoid the yaoi section and walk by quickly if necessary. You, however, haven't manifested any hurry and went there freely."

She turned the projector off before the neutral gaze of Kiku who was honestly wondering if she had nothing better to do than watch people's reaction in the yaoi isle.

"Lastly, you have manifested a positive reaction to our test consisting of luring you here with this," she said, showing him the first tome of Sekaiichi Hatsukoi which cover was just tied to an invisible wire. A few claps started behind him but he didn't even look away. "Now, I'll offer you two options," she finished when everything was silent again. She walked to him ominously, managing to make him uneasy. "First option: freely join the shipping club. Second option: be forced to join. Please keep in mind before making your choice that I have the gift of dominance and so you cannot say no to me."

Kiku thought for a moment, impassively scrutinizing the olive green eyes he could almost make out under the paper mask. But at the back of his mind, he was laughing. This was just a fangirl club offering him to join. Problem was, even if he wasn't really against it, he could not let it be known that he was into this. It was against his honor. But, well, if he didn't have a choice, he could just say he was forced to help out. "I accept."

"You won't take that back?"

"I don't have a choice, do I?"

The young girl stopped and giggled silently. She tore her mask off, revealing a joyful face. "No, you don't!" She gestured to the other to turn the light on and untie him. Kiku realized almost every girl in the school was there, including Mei and Faustina, watching him mockingly. There were about a dozen and a half. "Welcome to the club, Kiku-chan!" said Elizaveta, the one that had presented the little investigation, after she introduced herself. "Also, sorry about the whole act, I always wanted to do that!"

"I won't hold it against you, Elizaveta senpai," Kiku let slip. As soon as he said that, the shipping club captain suddenly blushed and hid behind her hands, squealing. Kiku gave her an incredulous look. "Elizaveta senpai? Is everything alright?"

"Yes, yes, I'm fine, Kiku-chan. I just…" She managed to pull herself together and breathed in deeply. "I always wanted to be called senpai by such a cute uke… Ahem, I mean a boy."

Kiku decided to pretend he hadn't heard anything. "May I add a clause to my admission?"

"Sure, what is it?"

"That nobody will call me Kiku-chan again, please…"

* * *

In the afternoon, three different performances were scheduled.

The sport club's football game was unbearably long. Actually, the game itself was rather short, but they needed three more players to have a decent game and Elizaveta not only yelled at the public for someone to get down there with them, but also decided to be picky about it. She refused Feliciano and Tino, as she had them since their arrival on her "uke we should keep away from masculine activities" list, Heracles, who didn't hold it against her as he fell asleep on the lawn until his Turkish roommate kicked him awake, Alfred, who might break the equipment and didn't know the difference between American football and every single other country in the world's football (AKA soccer), as well as Francis, because last time she had let him play he had gone on strike mid-game.

The rest of the club managed to negotiate the participation of Fausto, Antonio's brother, of Tim, who was Bella's, and of Young Soo who had pointed out that "football originated in Korea, daze~" and the game could finally begin.

After they picked the teams.

Because that was another issue. As Gilbert wanted to be against Eliza, but also with Antonio, Tim wanted nothing to do with the Hispanic brothers, Elizaveta was trying to get everyone to obey her, Logan, the Australian kid, was arguing with Gilbert about who was the best and Young Soo was messing around with the ball, there was some madness material. In the end, everybody calmed down when Ludwig started yelling at them for fifteen minutes and picked the teams himself.

So, there was on one side Elizaveta, Logan, Tim and Young Soo, and on the other Gilbert, Ludwig, Antonio and Fausto. And nobody as guardian. But at least the public was happy to see some football after so many shenanigans so nobody complained about the teams sizes. The players put on their numbered vests, the chronometer was started and the game began.

The score was almost a tie. They had excellent players in the club and nobody could surpass the others when it came to competitiveness. Or distraction techniques. For example Gilbert who would yell "I'M SO AWESOOOOOME" whenever he had the ball, and Young Soo who would grab every adverse boobs he could get his hands on and danced "gagman style" at every goal his team made. In the end, the germano-hispanic team won by chance when Gilbert managed kick the ball away from the goals and in the adversary one at the last second.

The whole school clapped when the teams shook hands. However, the albino did feel his fingers crack when Elizaveta grasped them. The Hungarian girl was miles away from enjoying defeat.

* * *

The swimming club's relay race was a lot shorter. Two teams of three students were fighting to see who would do six lengths first. And the best swimmers were obviously Elizaveta and Logan who didn't just give everything they got during the football game, but also truly made the competition spectacular.

Everything was done under the cheers of Rachelle, the team captain, a pretty little brunet with pigtails and tan skin, who categorically refused to put a foot in the water despite her role. And nobody knew why, except for the club members who had promised to keep it that way. That didn't keep her from making heads turn in the room. Nobody was even asking how she became the club's captain without ever swimming.

Tino, sitting in the second row between Berwald and Peter, leaned towards the younger boy to comment on the swimmers' performance. Worried about the lack of response, he turned to him and smiled fondly at how Peter didn't watch the race as much as he watched pretty Rachelle…

* * *

Lovino didn't want to go to the auditorium to see the music club's performance. Why? Because he was sick of everything. Really…

He was put to sleep by the narcoleptic guy. Okay.

His twin managed to go on without him and probably go find that fucking potato bastard even though he had come along for the sole purpose of him not meeting him. Not okay.

Plus, because of this dumb forced nap, he had woken up alone in the philosophy room, in the afternoon, with a note from Antonio saying "We're at the game. Come and see us when you wake up!", and signed with a smiling tomato.

So he was starving, alone, and didn't want to go watch a game, or the music club's show at the auditorium because looking at the time, the game had probably been over for a while…

Frowning, he got up and decided to go to the kitchen, to see if he could sneak out something to eat before dinner. He just hoped the cooking club had fucked off, especially the blond guy. That dude made him sick. If Lovino ever managed to be alone in a room with him, he would probably escape through the floor.

Walking down the hallway, he noticed the music room's lights were on while everyone was supposed to be at the concert. Curiously, he peeked through the half-open door. The room as empty, some idiot probably forgot to turn the lights off. But he didn't leave.

He looked left and right in the corridor to make sure nobody was around, then came in, feeling safer. The music room was quite large, with many storing units for the instruments. A large centimeters-tall platform was set before a dozen rostrum chairs. In a corner, a laptop was on and connected to two speakers, as well as several microphones, ready to be used.

Lovino thought in a hurry. Usually, the music room was always occupied by the students, or the music club. Unless there was a concert, like today. This was an opportunity that wouldn't present itself very often.

He again made sure that nobody, NOBODY, was in the corridor at the moment, and carefully closed the door. Then, he silent sat at the computer and looked around for a bit. There were many songs in instrumental versions so that the musicians didn't have to learn a new song every time someone felt like singing. There were all sorts of it, even from musicals or cartoons. Lovino waited for a second, hearing around for someone who walk in the corridor at that moment. Then he started a song he knew and ran to stand at the mics.

" _Uno, due, tre_ …" he muttered. A south-american sounding melody flooded the room, slightly too loud for his taste but he didn't want to go and find out how to lower the volume. He started to sing, feeling more confident as the lyrics ran smoothly from his mouth.

" _Non sono proprio adatto io_

 _Adiventar un nuovo dio_

 _Non assomiglio neanche a un cherubin..._ "

A smile formed on his face. Lovino loved to sing. And he wasn't bad at it. At least, he wanted to believe that. But he wasn't stupid to the point where he couldn't realize Feliciano, that adorable little angel everybody loved despite his happy ass face, was once again a lot better than him in that regard.

" _Ora loro sono qui_

 _In ginocchio, e per chi?_

 _Non puo certo andar meglio di cosi..._ "

You just had to hear him sing a solo during miss Jones' class. He had a light, effeminate voice that fit almost every song, soft and happy, or melancholic and sad. He was ashamed when he had to sing after him.

" _Più di cosi più di cosi più di cosi..._

 _OH MIO DIO!_

 _E' duro fare il dio_

 _Osannato dal corteo_

 _E questa è la loro verità._ "

He did not care anyway. Singing was for girls. Even if he liked it, he didn't want people to hear it, it would be humiliating. No, if he had to sing, it was to himself.

" _Una vera devozione_

 _E non finisce qua_

 _E' piuttosto imbarazzante_

 _Questa mia notorietà_

 _Non posso rifutare_

 _Devo proprio accettare_

 _Se mi dicono sei un dio_

 _Io lo saro!_ "

He sung the rest of the song, trying not to think about his brother. He rarely let himself enjoy things and it was already embarrassing enough without a public, he wasn't going to imagine himself in competition against the little marshmallow traitor he called his twin. When the music ended in a deafening roar of trumpets and drums, he went and set the laptop just the way he found it, bumping the microphones on the way. Nobody should know what he had d…

Elizaveta slightly waved at him from the room's door. Behind her, Roderich was absent-mindedly cleaning his glasses. Lovino blushed violently, so mortified he couldn't even try to think of an excuse. He just stood there, perfectly still, cheeks redder by the second. One might have wondered if he was still breathing. Worried, Elizaveta wanted to comfort him. "Don't worry, you have a beautiful singing voice, you know that?"

Lovino immediately went from scarlet to burgundy and ran away, bumping into the two spies who had just come pick up a violin bow for the concert.

Elizaveta had a small smile and looked down at her phone. Roderich went to get his precious little bow and glanced at the screen his girlfriend was watching. "You shouldn't have done that," he said, reprovingly.

"I could need it, someday," she quickly answered, putting the small device away.

The Austrian boy knew there was no talking her out of that kind of project. So he just took her hand and led her towards the auditorium.


	9. Come to the party with me?

It was in the middle of the morning. Kiku had gone out for some fresh air and, true to himself, had settled on a bench in the playground, in the shade of a tree, to read. Except…

"Kiku-chan!" Kiku looked up. Alfred smiled at him, a coke can in his hand. The Japanese boy couldn't open his mouth before he sat down next to him. "Wait… A biology book?!" the American exclaimed when he saw the cover. "Kiku-chan, it's Sunday, we've had like a week of lessons and you're already studying? Aren't you a little crazy?"

Kiku seemed a little uneasy and looked away. "I'm used to… starting early," he said hesitatingly.

"What the fuck…" Alfred said. "Well, whatever floats your boat. "He finished his coke and threw the empty can into the nearest trashcan, yelling "GOAL!" when it successfully disappeared into the black plastic bag. "So?"

"So what, Alfred?"

"Tell me! What did you do yesterday? Did you find yourself a club?"

Kiku stayed focused on his book and kept silent for a moment. "I joined the journalism club."

"… That's all?"

"Yes, why?"

Alfred breathed a sigh. Kiku couldn't tell if he looked rather disappointed or relieved. "How many are you? Two?"

"We're three."

Alfred snickered.

"What's so funny?"

"Nothing, it's just a pretty ridiculous number of people for a club!"

"It's completely fine!" the Japanese said, slightly offended, before speaking up again. "How many are you in your student help club?"

"Six."

"That's not a lot either."

"It's more than three!"

Kiku let go of the issue. He wouldn't fight about such futile things. That a club had three or six members was about as important at the percentage of snow in August on the Mississippi River. He glanced at his friend, still laughing a little with that genuinely happy smile on his face. "You look happy that my club has so little people."

"Huh? Why would you think that?"

"A feeling."

Alfred scratched his head. "It doesn't really make me happy… I mean, it's not a real journal team, they only publish a few pages a month and there aren't even sexy pictures. Plus, they never tell about my HERO exploits, they just talk about things nobody cares about, it's not fair!"

"Oh, so it's grudge…"

"Wha…" Alfred seemed about to choke, his eyes exaggeratedly wide, wiggling without visible intent. "Absolutely not! A HERO never holds a grudge, unless there's a good reason!" He was so ridiculous Kiku let out a tiny laugh that he tried to hide behind his hand. Too late. Alfred noticed and gave him a large smile. "I knew you could actually laugh! You should try to do it more!"

"Huh…" Kiku hesitated for a while and then eventually chose not to answer.

"But about what we were saying… Journal club isn't the best to make friends."

"Hum? Why? Ludwig-san and Feliciano-kun are both quite friendly."

Alfred laughed again. "Ludwig? Friendly? Are you serious?"

Kiku thought for a moment and had to refrain from giggling again. "I have to admit it isn't exactly the best adjective to define him."

"No kidding? Plus two friends can't be enough."

"You know, Alfred, I believe it's better to have few solid friendships rather than many hazardous acquaintances."

Alfred looked at him like he was reflecting on his words. "Come again in English?"

Kiku had to refrain himself from face palming. "Quality is better than quantity."

"Oh, okay, you couldn't said that earlier!" The American started to laugh and Kiku just smiled. Alfred's good mood was contagious. Silence fell again between the two of them and Kiku went back to reading, thinking they were done. "So it's my HERO duty to help you in your quest for friendship!"

The black-haired boy sighed. "I assure you there is no need for this now, Alfred. I believe I can fit in just fine."

"But… You don't have a lot of friends and…"

"And I like it that way, thank you," Kiku interrupted a little sharply.

Alfred went quiet and looked at him with a sad little pout. "So you don't need me anymore?"

Kiku gave him a surprised look and smiled before his puppy eyes. They were probably about the same age but Alfred acted so much like a kid… "Why would you say that, Alfred? You are the one who told me we were friend, aren't you? It doesn't matter if you are helping me or not!"

The American's eyes sparkled and, without warning, Kiku was prisoner of a pair of arms seemingly trying to crush him. The Japanese felt his face go white, then red, started shaking, reflexively struggled, tried to calm down, observed the situation, put things in perspective and, finally, dared to put his own arms around Alfred's waist after making a lot of efforts to see this as normal for occidental culture. Give him a big hand, it was difficult but he finally managed to hug someone back!

He realized far too late that he had dropped his book. When Alfred let him go, he was too fast for him and grabbed the book instead of Kiku. But instead of giving it back, he looked at the page the Japanese boy was reading. "What's so interesting in th…?"

He stopped. His expression went from curiosity to surprise to amusement in a couple seconds. Kiku shrunk back into his seat, mortified. There, between the biology book's pages, he had slipped a doujinshi to use the studies as an excuse to read it. Alfred smirked at him. "So you know that technique too! I'd rather do that to read comics in class but hey, you do you…" He laughed loudly and turned the manga's pages. Kiku was as red as a poppy, trying to disappear into his own shirt. Alfred suddenly stopped laughing, squinting his eyes to take a closer look at the manga. "Kiku?"

"Y-yes, Alfred?"

"What is that guy doing with the… Wait, what is that thing? Is that a skewer?"

Kiku looked at the page he was talking about and blushed even more. He really didn't think he'd ever read this kind of stuff with someone else… Alfred was looking at him insistently, waiting for an answer. Kiku took a deep breath and whispered an explanation in his ear. Alfred blushed as well and winced but didn't seem too disgusted, much to the Japanese boy's relief.

"You read very weird stuff, dude," he commented as he took a look at the rest of the manga. He laughed several times, avoided a few pages that looked too "weird" for him and asked plenty of questions Kiku did not want to answer. After a couple minutes, he looked up and gave Kiku a look that was way too serious for his character. "Kiku… Don't tell me you're in the crazy-yaoists club?"

"Um… Let's not change the subject, Alfred…"

* * *

At the very beginning of PCD, that Monday morning, Luna had taken a few minutes to announce that their yearly September Ball would be held on next Saturday. She had watched as the students' eyes sparkled, as the girls started chirping about the kind of dress they absolutely had to wear, as the boys started talking about who they'd invite. She smiled fondly. Then the lesson began, like the week before, with an intensive tiring session. But as their last strengths left the kids, her mobile phone rang and she left the room to pick up. When she came back, she looked perturbed. Like divided between annoyance and worry. To the point where she actually didn't realize the students had all taken advantage of her being gone to take some rest. She started to give her instructions for the lesson, like nothing happened.

Everything went smoothly. Those who knew their powers gladly worked on them and the others, which meant Vash, Lily and Mei, spent the session watching horror movies, since the teacher was obviously too shaken to surprise them like last time When the bell rang the end of the lesson, Feliciano innocently asked Luna what was on her mind but she sent him off a little dryly, which didn't comfort the Italian boy.

Thankfully, the next day, she seemed to be back to her usual mood, so the problem might not have been that bad.

The first journalism club session was quite short as Ludwig had declared that the first week would be dedicated to finding interesting topics for the school newspaper. Since he was taking the small number of members and their inexperience into account, he had put the publishing date at the end of October so that they could produce quality articles. To make it short, the journal was composed of a front page article on which they had to cooperate, as well as several smaller topics they could manage separately. Ludwig was taking care, ever since he had joined the club, of the "practical advice" page, focusing on studying methods and health. Kiku had inherited the "criticism" page, which was actually to his liking. Lastly, Feliciano was in charge of the "school info" page. He just had to report whatever was happening in the school, which was akin to a simple rumor page.

Ludwig had then started a brainstorming to find a topic for the front page of their October edition. But with a pasta-obsessed boy and an otaku who would only submit very Japanese topics, the research was not going well. Because no, "pasta popularity by country" and "the ten best places to celebrate the hanami" were not suitable topics. He decided they would simply think about interesting topics for the rest of the week and pick one at random the next Monday.

Then Feliciano woke up and they had a snack while talking about September Ball.

* * *

On Wednesday afternoon, during free time, Gilbert put his plan to execution.

He had to do without any accomplices this time. Antonio had been kidnapped by Bella and Francis was in detention for "exhibitionism". Granted it wasn't socially accepted to go skinny dipping in the school's swimming pool during swimming practice but a detention for that… It's not like it was the first time, they should be used to it by now.

He was carefully walking through the empty corridors, making sure he was as silent as possible. Mostly because he didn't want to get caught, but also because, if he listened carefully, he could hear the discreet sound of footsteps following him since noon. He smirked as his destination came into view: the kitchen. Francis had told him it was completely empty between two and four in the afternoon. Cooking club didn't start until then, and the cleaning staff was long gone already. Gilbert stepped into the room, tip-toed further in, as if checking no one was there. Then came back and closed the door.

Now came the work part. The albino boy walked up to one of the many numbered cupboards in the room and started checking them, one by one. He found numerous interesting things, such as bags of ingredients with unpronounceable names or diversely shaped cake pans, until he found what he had been looking for: a bag of flour.

He walked back to the door with his loot but, instead of leaving, he just opened the bag and started spreading its content all over the kitchen floor, making sure he didn't leave a single clean space. For good measure, he threw the rest of it across the room, and watched the results unfold.

At first, nothing happened for several minutes. Gilbert was waiting, standing in a corner, but his idea seemed to have failed… Pfft, as if! He was awesome, all his ideas were consequently awesome, and thus had to work! Thankfully for the albino's ego, after a while, two footprints suddenly appeared. They quickly made their way towards the door. The mysterious stalker was running away once more. Gilbert had an impatient grin. The hunt had started.

He teleported in front of the wooden door. The footprints in the flour stopped suddenly and tried to take a few steps back to run in the opposite direction. Except whoever this invisible person was, they had forgotten a crucial detail: flour makes tiles very slippery.

A large white cloud raised in the air when the invisible person fell onto the ground. Gilbert jumped on the hole that fall had created in the white powder and kind of managed to restrain the spy by sitting on them. He felt them struggle but not manage to shake him off, which made him smile even more.

"Behold the way you were tricked by the awesome me!" An annoyed growl answered him as his prisoner slowly calmed down. It was almost like they were sulking, which made the albino laugh. "So, won't you show me your face, Birdie?"

A long moment of silence followed his question. Gilbert wondered if he had heard him well and wanted to repeat himself when, finally, his stalker slowly appeared. He could first see their blue student jacket form some sort of transparent veil above the tiles. Then their beige vest appeared underneath, then their white shirt. Their brown tie took a while to show up at his collar. Then he could see a pinkish neck, pretty blond locks, and the lines of a slightly chubby face, like a child's. His ruby-colored eyes traced their large, round jaw, their full lips and straight nose, and ended up diving deep into huge blue purplish eyes. He drew back a bit, taking in their half-annoyed half-sheepish face and decided, after taking a good look, that this boy was the cutest stalker he had ever seen.

He was very disappointed when the boy ended up not turning completely visible. He was staying in a transparent state which, although allowing to see his face, made it difficult to make out clearly his silhouette; he looked like a ghost. A very cute ghost.

After a while, he turned completely invisible again and Gilbert whined.

"I can't stay invisible for very long, it takes a lot of focus," the ghost explained in a voice as transparent as he was.

"What's your name, Birdy?" Gilbert asked.

"Matthew."

"Why are you following me?" Gilbert was determined to get the truth out of him.

Matthew hesitated for a few moment before answering. "I… I spy on problematic kids on the principles' behalf. I might have to tell them about what you did here."

Gilbert gave him, or at least looked at the spot where his head was before, a doubtful look. He was awesome enough to know a lie when he heard one, and Matthew had hesitated too much to be sincere. "And the real reason is?"

Matthew went quiet for a minute. "I'm looking for confidence," he finally said. Gilbert did not move, waiting for him to keep going. Matthew sighed and explained. "As you can see, it's pretty hard to notice me," he said. "I have a hard time being visible and everything I touch, from my clothes to Kumayolo…"

"Who?"

"Over there." Gilbert turned and noticed, further away, a white teddy bear sniffing the flour and sneezing quietly. Matthew had probably let go of it when he fell. "Anyway, everything I touch goes invisible too, so it doesn't help. Most people in the school don't know I exist, or forgot from not seeing me. S-so I try to get others to notice me but…" You could feel from his tone of voice that he was blushing. "I can't, I'm too silent," he said like it was a secret. He then stopped for a moment. Gilbert tilted his head, not getting where he was going. "So I followed you to try and understand how I could be noticed. I mean, you're one of the most famous kids in the school. The Bad Touch Trio, all that stuff. Everyone know your name, even if it isn't to say nice things about you. So I thought that, by observing you, I could learn to be the same. It's stupid, I know."

Gilbert gave him and incredulous look. Then dropped to his side, freeing the blond boy, and started laughing nervously. Matthew didn't move. The albino was guessing he hadn't told him the entire truth but he'd make do with his explanation for now. "So that's why you've been following me for weeks?!" he exclaimed, shaken by his uncontrolled laughter.

"Y-yeah?"

"Dude you should've just asked me right away, Birdie! You need awesome advice to become awesome!"

"Wha… Oh, ok, sorry…"

"Don't apologize! It just took longer than it should have, that's all!" Gilbert stood and reach out towards the space where he thought Matthew was. He felt his hand in his and pulled to help him up. He himself stayed visible, which meant Matthew's ability only affected objects. Kuma-what's-his-name was a teddy bear so, even if it moved, it still counted. "So, Birdie, in my awesome generosity, I will teach you everything you need to know to become almost as awesome as me! Kesese…"

"Um… Really, Gilbert, you don't have to bother…"

"Don't worry, Birdy! I was bored anyway!"

"Why are you calling me Birdy?"

Gilbert stopped and thought. "It's a nickname I used for you… I guess it stuck because… You're hard to catch, and you fly away as soon as I find you, like a little bird." Matthew didn't answer, Gilbert assumed that meant he liked the nickname. "Well, then. Lesson number 1, Birdy! When an awesome dude makes an awesome mess, he proudly faces the consequences. So we're going to leave the flour here and go before someone sees us…"

"Um… Aren't contradicting yourself right now?"

"No, why?"

"We could at least sweep the floor, there are people working here that have better to do than cleaning…"

"Yeah, but we also have better to do."

"But…"

"Second lesson, Birdy!"

"But…"

"Wanna go to September Ball with me?"

"But… What? What does this have to do with anything?"

"Well that's rule number 2! An awesome guy never goes to a party alone! So, Birdy? What do you say?"

"…"

"Birdy?"

"…"

"That's when you say 'Oh Gil'! I'd love to go to the party with you! When are you picking me up?' and you fall into my arms crying happy tears."

"Wh… Y…C… Y-y-you really think anyone'd do that?"

"You say that like it's a bad thing!"

There was another silence. One could almost hear the gears turning in the blond boy's head. "Ok, fine," he eventually said. "I'll go with you…"

"Yeah! That's cool, Birdy!"

"On one condition." Gilbert stopped. Matthew walked to a closet, opened it, took two brooms out and threw it to the albino. "We're going to sweep the kitchen."

Gilbert scratched his chin and pretended to think. "Blackmail, huh? Cool, I didn't even have to teach you lesson number 3!" He felt a light hit on his arm and laughed. "Feisty, aren't you, Birdy?" he said before starting to sweep the flour-covered floor.

The invisible blond boy was intriguing. He couldn't remember the last time someone had managed to make him clean up one of his shenanigans. But hey, it wasn't such a heavy price to finally have someone entering the party with him. Even someone invisible.

* * *

"The time is up, you can all stop."

Francis sat his pen down and checked the list of feelings he had detected among the students. Arthur let go of Carwin's hand and hurriedly put his gloves back on as the older boy kept talking with his Shadows. Yao blew off the tea light candle he was training with and was finally allowed away from the fire extinguishers. Eduar closed his laptop before Young Soo and Hyung Soo's attentive gazes. Gilbert went back to his human form after going through all the animals he could think of all morning. Antonio stopped playing with his force fields and Bella lowered herself as delicately as she could to the ground.

Luna was noting her observations on a notebook that she always had with her, as she watched from the corner of her eyes the fourth year students preparing to leave. She had a small smile as she noticed the progress some had made during the summer. Bella, for example, had been levitating for a whole hour without batting an eye, a new record. Unfortunately, others seemed still unable to progress…

Francis handed her his list and she let him go with a little "good job".

"For those with two powers, we'll work on them next week," she announced as she read. "Carwin, excellent work but remember to make sure you have control before summoning more. Eduar, good work, you can leave. Yong Soo, Hyung Soo, you'll do what you've seen next time, try working it during the week-end…" The students she called would listen what she had to say to them and then leave immediately with their stuff. That was how Luna's classes usually ended. "Bella, very good, I'm glad you practiced. We'll work on precision together. Antonio, Gilbert, you did well but stop playing during the class, you're here to work. Yao, Arthur, you both stay."

The two boys shared a look, slightly anxious. It also was common for her to keep one or two students to speak to them, but it wasn't usually to congratulate them… The rest of the class left the room, leaving the two students alone with the teacher. She went and sat at one of the tables that had been pushed against the wall and gestured at them to do the same. They complied, nervously.

"Who wants to start?" she asked with a firm voice that said yes, you are being scolded. The two boys shared another look and Arthur pointed at himself. Luna nodded and told Yao to go and wait in the projection room. He obeyed without a word, which only added to the heavy atmosphere that had settled. The English boy waited, uneasy, for her to start. "So? You still can't control it?" she asked with a troubled face.

"No, still can't."

"Still as powerful?"

"Yes, I believe it's even growing stronger…" She looked at him in the eyes, waiting for him to continue. "I made sure not to touch anyone outside of my family, don't worry. Although it's hard with that damn frog who uses all his time to spoil mine and keeps harassing me and…" Luna cleared her throat and Arthur realized he was rambling. "Yes, so, as I was saying, even with touching anybody, I feel like it's getting stronger. I can't explain it it's like… I don't know, drugs getting stronger without a change of dosage."

"It must be growth," she said almost to herself. "And you still can't calm the effects?"

"No, impossible," Arthur grumbled, pulling on his gloves and bringing the teacher's attention on them. "Are they new?" she asked.

"Um… yes, I lost last year's ones…"

"And you're wearing them already?"

Arthur didn't answer and blushed. Luna smiled and wanted to ruffle his hair, but remembered he didn't want to be touched. She stopped herself just in time, which the English boy was thankful for. "Don't worry, I know why you're wearing them. You know it's a permanent capacity, like Matthew's…"

"Sorry, who?"

"A second year student. You know, the invisible little guy? Alfred's brother?"

"Alfred has a brother?"

"Oh, whatever. So I was saying… yes, permanent capacity, so it's hard to control, but I am sure you'll manage in a few years. You just have to keep working on it."

"Yes, miss…"

She gave him a blinding smile and nodded at him to leave. She watched maliciously as he gathered his stuff. "One last thing!" she said before he could disappear though the PCD room's door. "I'm certain this power will be useful to you, so you might want to test it? Your little 'frog' seems rather receptive…"

Arthur almost choked as he glared at his teacher who burst into shimmering laughter and shooed him away, taking note of the redness that had appeared unexpectedly over his cheeks. Oh how she loved teasing the students about this!

She got up and went to open the projection room's door. It was Yao's turn to sit in front of her, as he obviously tried very hard to control himself. He probably thought she was going to scold him about his non-existent progress. He wasn't exactly wrong, but she didn't want him to have a new fit. She had to weight her words and to be tactful, while still telling him the truth. She took a few moments to think as the Chinese boy grew impatient. "Yao," she eventually said. "Don't worry, you work well, even if you are not progressing very fast. This is what I want to talk about."

She dangled the list Francis had written in front of his eyes. Next to his name, Yao could read _Very tense since the beginning of the session, but that's not usual. Anxious and defensive. All of this has to do with his power + being confused about his feelings. Personal note: needs a hot bath with lavender oil and relaxing music._ "Can't he mind his own business, aru…"

"He still needs to practice. If I'm correct, it was almost the same thing last year. And the one before that." Luna sat the paper down and gave him a beautiful smile. "Would you talk to me about this?"

"No, ma'am, sorry…" Yao looked away and bit his lip awkwardly.

"I already told you that, if you wanted to control yourself, you had to make peace with your emotions. I didn't tell you to force them away."

"I know, aru…"

"You need to understand, Yao, as long as you won't be calm during the exercises, you won't be able to progress and everything will stay erratic and unexpected. I know it's something difficult to do for someone with a past like yours, but we need to avoid putting others in danger. If you fight it, your power will fight you too, do you understand?"

"Yes, aru…"

"If you have trouble controlling them, it simply means you are not accepting your powers as a part of you. After three years of training, you should already be able to manipulate candle flame away from the fire extinguishers, you know? Same thing for…"

"Miss!" Luna stopped. Yao's face was red and his eyes glistening with tears. He couldn't listen, as always… "Miss…" he repeated, in a lower voice, trying very hard not to snap at her. "When I found out about this capacity you say is "part of me", I set my former school on fire, aru. Kids almost dies because of me, aru. And when I got here, I had to find out about some other curse that I had to live with, aru. So don't tell me these… things are part of me. I don't want to be a freak!"

"Yao. Calm down." Yao ignored her and started gathering his stuff. He did not want to talk about this, not now, not ever. He felt his pulse raise and was clever enough to sit back down and breathe, so he wouldn't illustrate what he had just explained. "Yao, rejecting your capacities won't make them less dangerous."

"I know, aru! Put I still can't accept them, aru!"

"Then you're in a dead-end."

He stood without answering and headed for the exit. He tried to think about something else, kittens, plush toys, flowers… Something cute and peaceful that could calm his thumping heart. He needed to get those problems out of his head.

Ivan was waiting at the door. _Tâ mâ de_!

He was alone. Which meant he had left his friends/scapegoats/servants/others to stay with him a while. Double _tâ mâ de_!

Yao could always pretend he didn't see him but it was pretty hard to say that to an almost seven feet tall guy standing right next to the door. Especially when the playground was empty because everyone was having lunch.

He could also try to dig a hole and bury himself alive so he would have to endure the Russian's presence and the very unpleasant his body tended to have in his presence. Right now, it seemed like the most enticing option. Unfortunately, there were material limits so he would have to choose another option…

"Yao-Yao~!" The Russian boy's playful voice interrupted him in the middle of his thoughts. Yao felt his large hands cover his shoulders and shivered. His heart started beating harder. He already wasn't very calm, but now the situation had gone from bothersome to dangerous. He started power walking towards the cafeteria like nothing was wrong, making sure he was breathing evenly. Ivan followed him.

"Sorry, Ivan, but I'm really not in the mood for anyone's company right now, aru," he said with a blank voice.

"Eh? Even though I waited for you all this time?"

Yao checked his watch. Classes really did end fifteen minutes ago. "You didn't have to, aru."

"But I wanted to be with my little Yao-Yao!"

The shivers increased. Bad omen. "Well I don't and that's it, aru! And stop it with the nickname!"

As only answer, Ivan caught up to him and closed his arms around him, slowing him down. He held him tight. "But Yao-Yao want to be with me too, da?"

Yao couldn't react immediately. He could feel the Russian boy's warm breath on his neck, the sweet scent of his scarf, the strange exchange of temperature between their bodies, through their uniforms, a surprising side-effect of their respective powers. Part of him wanted to hold onto that large back and accept the embrace. But the rest of him was freaking out at his heart going crazy, at the shivers increasing again, and at the ball of heat blossoming in the depths of his chest. He only hesitated for a second. He kicked the Russian in the legs, freeing himself, and ran as fast as he could to the closest bathroom. Once more, Ivan didn't chase after him. He just watched him go with a bitter eye, sighed and walked to the cafeteria. By himself. He'd have his chance anyway. He knew it when he saw him the first time. Yao would be his. But not like his friends. The Chinese boy would be completely and entirely his. Someday.

Locked in one of the stalls, curled on the toilet seat, Yao wanted to cry. He was breathing as deeply as he could, gripping the fabric of his pants to try and steady himself. Why? Why did he have to hide such a shameful thing? Why was this happening so often these days? Why couldn't he just have that kind of affection from Ivan? He knew he could be cruel when something wasn't to his liking. He knew he was probably a little mad. But he also knew how frighteningly nice he could be with him. With this sort of kind dominance that made his head spin all the time. He had been hiding for three years and controlling himself was getting more and more difficult every time his roommate tried to get close to him. Until when would he be able to keep it a secret?

All these questions weren't helping at all. His blood was boiling, the heat had claimed his entire body. His muscles and bones were a little sore, as always. There was nothing to do. He had to wait. Wait for his body to stop being a jerk.

He startled when he hear the bathroom door open. Slow and silent steps walked on the tiles and a pair of black flats stopped right in front of his booth. He heard three knocks on the panel but didn't move. "Occupied," he said with the most normal voice he could manage.

"I know, Yao. Let me in."

It was a woman's voice, low and calm. Yao recognized it immediately. He stood, trembling, and unlocked the door.

It was a woman in her forties. She was slender, and a little hunched but you could feel she had once been very tall. Her skin was dark and her hair was blond, a darker blond than her sister's. The long blue dress she wore was hardly hiding the weakness of her body. However her almond-shaped eyes were filled with colors, shimmering like stars.

Gaia came in, closed the door and held him close. No word was spoken. Yao let her, thankful. He even let a tear roll onto her shoulder. She just held him silently. She knew. She always seemed to know. "You don't have to be ashamed, you know…" she whispered.

Yao didn't answer. He knew that, if he was to open his mouth, he would start sobbing.

"I know you don't want anyone to know but nobody will judge you for being different. Because everyone is different here."

He shook his head. Her words felt so right and yet…

"You don't want to accept it. I know. The problem isn't about others. It's about yourself. Unfortunately, you'll soon have to accept yourself."

"When?"

"Soon." He wouldn't hear more. She probably didn't know about the details either. Little by little, he felt the heat leave his body. His heart had calmed down. Feeling this, Gaia stood back a little and looked at him straight in the eyes. She gave him a wonderful smile and played with his brown hair for a moment. "Better?" she asked.

He nodded. Without another word, she left the booth and started walking slowly towards the exit. "You don't leave your office very often," Yao commented.

"That's true," she said, still walking slowly. "But I cannot let my sister take care of everything by herself. And I've had more than enough of all the paper work."

"Do you need help to go back?"

She stopped and looked at him with a sad smile. "I can still go by myself, thank you. I am sick but not disabled yet."

He watched her leave. He felt a little lighter. Gaia was great at cheering her students up. She was always at the right place at the right moment and always knew what to say. With an appeased sigh, he headed back towards the cafeteria.


	10. Little travel secrets

The bus station was crowded, that Saturday morning. The girls were running to the dress rental shop, and the boys to the costumes. The romantics were flower-shopping for their partners. The first real party of the year was an event at the academy, and even the new kids understood that.

The shuttle was struggling to carry all the students, there weren't enough seats for everyone. Romano, brought there by his brother, had shown off his best curses when the driver asked them to step out and to wait for the next trip. Feliciano was also a little disappointed but waiting was not that much of a problem to him.

So they were several kids waiting for the bus to unload its passengers into town and come back to take them next. Romano was sulking, as always, and Feliciano was in the middle of a seducing Sophie, a young second-year Monegasque who gave amused answers to all of his pick-up lines. There was also Elizaveta, kind of pissed by the waiting the shuttle had imposed on them, Kiku, the Japanese boy who was apparently appointed "official shipping club camera-man" considering the large camera hanging around his neck, and half a dozen other impatient students.

Everyone turned to the road with hopeful eyes as they heard the sound of an engine coming their way, but to their surprise, it wasn't the shuttle that parked in front of the dorm building. It was a black ordinary Ford, the kind that could belong to any citizen. Had they been anywhere else in the world, the students would have thought that was a kid's parents coming for an appointment with the principals. Except they were at Hetako Academy and seeing a car outside the town was as normal as seeing white tigers in New York. Curious whispers drifted around the students as the car came and parked just a few feet away.

Two businessman-like men with suits, ties and leather suitcases wiggled out the front seats. Give them sunglasses, futuristic guns and a laser and they would be perfect Men in Black. They probably tried to be stealthy with their townsman car but it would have been hard to be any more suspicious.

One of them opened the backseat door and a young boy jump out like a spring. He was barely out before he stretched with a pained wince. "Seriously, guys, you need to do something about the seats. Sleeping in here was hell," he grumbled as he bended himself in every direction to crack his joints.

The two men in suits didn't answer and powerwalked past the students' inquisitive looks towards the academy's front door. The boy didn't follow, he just started to jump up and down on his heels, looking around like he was wondering what to do. He was about thirteen or fourteen years old, had reddish hair, a strange angular curl and the academy's uniform. A cry sounded among the students at the bus stop. "Ah! It's Romeo!"

And everybody minus the first years started whispering about him hurriedly. Feliciano turned to the kids around him, looking lost. "Veveve, what, who?"

"Romeo. He's a second year. He disappeared at the beginning of summer without a warning and the principles didn't explain anything," someone said to him. "I hear he ran away."

If it was the case, he looked rather happy to be back. His eyes scanned his surrounding like he was looking for something and he had a large smile on his lips. He did not look like a runaway. His uniform was clean, slightly crumpled by his night in the car but still in a good state, his hair was combed and he seemed healthy. His eyes suddenly stopped on the group waiting for the bus and his smile grew larger as he ran up to the students who didn't know how to react.

"Wow, everyone, I missed you guyyyyyys!" he exclaimed, grabbing anyone he could put his hands on, especially the girls. When he faced the Italian twins, there was like a pause as all three of the shared a gaze. Two older ones thought there was something very familiar about the boy but couldn't tell what it was. "Well, I see we have new faces! What are your names?" he said eventually.

They introduced themselves and both received a greeting hug. Feliciano was glad. Romano wasn't. Then Romeo turned as he seemed to look for someone that he found very quickly. "Sophie!" he shrieked, throwing himself at the Monegasque. "How are you? Did you miss me?"

He didn't let her answer and stuck a beautiful kiss on her lips. A couple of kids catcalled them. Sophie quickly recovered from the surprise and firmly pushed him away. He took a step back but kept holding her waist. She wasn't smiling, her expression a perfect poker face.

"You are still beautiful," he complimented with a wink.

She squinted at this, like she was thinking intensely, but the rest of her body didn't move. She needed a moment to answer. "Thanks."

Romeo smiled sheepishly and ran a hand through his hair before scratching the back of his head. "You're mad?"

"Yes."

"Oh. And what can I do for you to forgive me?"

She went quiet for a few moments which he took advantage of to snuggle up to her and kiss her forehead with fondness. "Tell me what happened."

He laughed nervously and looked away. "I can't."

"Why?"

"Because I'm not allowed to. I could tell you but I'd have to come up with something and you'd know right away that I'm telling bullshit and we'd fight and you wouldn't let me celebrate coming back tonight and…"

"Okay, okay, stop," she interrupted, blushing and a few snickered around them.

He laughed and played with a lock of stray ash-blond hair that fell out of her braid. Then he stopped and stared at her breasts. "Wait, isn't that the bra I got y…"

A slap to the face cut him short. "Romeo! What was the deal?!" she cried furiously, stomping out of his embrace.

"Ahah, sorry, I forgot," he said, rubbing his cheek."

"What was the deal?!"

"No x-ray vision outside of lessons," he replied with a bored look. "Sorry, Sophie, I won't forget again, promise."

She didn't answer, going back to her poker face. She turned her back on him, pretending to ignore him. Romeo sighed loudly but his playful smile grew back almost instantly. "If that's what you're worried about," he said charmingly, "I didn't look at any other girl while I was away…"

She stayed perfectly still for almost a minute, like she hadn't heard him. But eventually, she held out her hand to him without looking back and he held it with a knowing smile. "Lier…" she whispered.

"Not at all and you know it," he replied, snaking his free arm around her shoulders.

They argued a little more until someone in the group stopped them in favor of asking Romeo to tell where he had been all this time. Romeo refused with a grin, claiming that it was a secret, but the other students joined in and, quickly, the entire group was begging him loudly. There was a short respite when the shuttle finally arrived but, once they were in the bus, they all started asking again. After all, it was exceptional for the principles to allow a school trip outside the campus's limits, so it was absolutely phenomenal for a student to leave for over two months.

"Okay, okay, fine," he conceded after at least fifty demands.

He stood in the middle of the bus to make sure everyone would hear him, pleased with all the attention the whole thing was bringing him.

"So here's the story," he announced. "My grandma died at the beginning of summer and I absolutely had to attend the funeral. My mom called the principles to ask them if I could spend the vacations with her, to comfort her, you know? At first they refused but my mom can be super convincing. She has tons of family in Italy and they could do a vendetta if she asked. So the principles said I could spend a week with her but no more, so you guys wouldn't hear about it. And I had to keep it secret or everyone would want to do the same and it had to stay an exception. But my mom outwit them. I went to Grandma's funeral, the week passed but instead of sending me back here she took me on a car trip around Italy and France. It was great, we'd never spend two nights in the same town, it was like a spy movie! Since I wasn't coming back, the principle sent those two gentlemen you saw after me but they couldn't find me until last Monday. The thing is I hadn't realized school had started again so I was pretty happy they found us. So… Yeah, that's how I spent my vacation!"

Everyone cheered and Romeo bowed like an actor who just played the role of his life. He went back to sit down next to Sophie who was looking absently through the window. "What did you think of my story?" he whispered.

"I wasn't listening," she answered just as quietly. "I'm not interested in lies."

"I thought you liked my stories."

"Stories. Not lies." He laughed and kissed her cheek. She smiled and blushed a little. "You dirty lier."

"But you like that about me, don't you?"

She didn't answer but leaned onto his shoulder, swearing to herself that she'd make him spit the truth out sooner or later.

* * *

If there was one thing Young Soo was adamant about, it was how necessary it was to have K-pop music for a party to be good. And he did not accept that Ling, the appointed DJ, wouldn't play any. So he had written a formal demand to the principles in order to be allowed to choose a few songs.

But just when he was about to knock on Gaia's office's door, he heard voices inside. Two men and two women, and all seemed extremely tense. His curiosity took over the rest, he pressed his ear to the panel to listen. The wood was thick and he couldn't get all the words but he made out most of the muffled conversation.

\- … absolutely unacceptable!" said Luna's voice, obviously angry. "Your part of the deal was always clear!"

"No need to blame us," one of the two men firmly answered. "We are only telling you about the council's decision. Please understand we are not trying to upset you."

"Well so much for that," Gaia sighed, almost to herself.

"You can probably guess our answer," Luna continues. "Gentlemen, I believe you know where the door is…"

The other man raised his voice. "Miss Chrones! Maybe this wasn't clear at first but I'll be a little more explicit: this is not a favor we are asking but an order you both have to follow in accordance to the contract that, may I remind you, you both signed. So please stop wasting our time!"

"You can shove that contract up your…"

"Luna!" Gaia exclaimed. "That's enough, calm down."

There was a long moment of silence and Young Soo figured out that the principles were whispering with each other. The two men didn't react, waiting patiently for them to finish their debate. After a few minutes, there was a very long sigh and the sound of a chair scraping the floor.

"Very well. We'll fulfill your request in accordance with the contract," Luna said. She spat the last word like an insult but nobody called her out for it.

"Thank you for your cooperation," said the first man with a monotonous voice. "Please be assured of our utmost esteem."

"Right, now get out."

That was Gaia's voice and before he could step back the door suddenly turned, making him fall forward. Gaia, her hand on the handle, threw a fit of laughter when he fell face first on the floor of her office. Her sister and visitors looked slightly less pleased about the presence of this spy. The men stood, throwing a rebuking look towards the older woman, and left like everything was normal, stepping over the Korean boy's body as he was too scared to stand up again. He sent a pleading look towards Luna and winced at her furious expression.

"I guess I don't get my request either?" Her brows knitted together. He stood and dusted his pants.

"You won't tell anyone about this conversation, right?" Gaia said with a peaceful smile.

"Pr-promise."

She stepped away from the door and he didn't wait for an invitation to run out, ashamed of being caught spying.

* * *

Tino was waiting on a chair, next to a still and silent Berwald. He did not know what to do. It had been two weeks. Two weeks that Berwald had been following him everywhere, or been making him follow him outside his lessons. Two weeks that he'd been trying to tell him he was creeped out by a stranger doing that to him. But to no use. Each time he started talking about that, Berwald would have this terrifying expression and he'd start stuttering apologies when he wasn't too scared to even talk. He really didn't know what to do.

"Sorry for the delay! I found it!"

Tino jumped and looked up. The shopkeeper had just come back from the stockroom and was proudly dangling a light grey costume in front of him, along with a dark shirt and a tie. Tino stood to go and try it on. The tie was too short and the pants would fall on his shoes. When he stepped out of the changing room, Berwald gave him another one of his scary looks and Tino shivered but the shopkeeper stepped close. The Finnish boy didn't really see what she did but when she stepped back again with a satisfied smile the entire costume fit him perfectly.

"Magic!" she smiled as only explanation. Tino burst out laughing.

When they left the shop, it was almost noon. Tino wanted to go back to the bus station but Berwald offered in his incomprehensible gibberish that they'd stay a little longer. He didn't refuse. It was a nice day, although the wind was blowing, bringing the temperature down to the autumn norm. Compared to what both Nordics had known at home, it was like a heat wave.

They wandered through the streets. Tino was making all the small talk by commenting nervously what he could see, like every time he was alone with Berwald. The taller boy was as mute as usual, only using little "uhums" to communicate. Sometimes, he'd open his mouth to say something but, in those moments, his face was so terrifying Tino would let out a strangled cry and the Swedish boy had second thoughts.

As they walked by a toy store, Tino stopped before a little stuffed animal at the window. It was a small white dog, sitting down, with large black button eyes and a pretty blue ribbon tied around its neck. Tino couldn't repress a fond smile as he looked at this cute furball. He only managed to walk away after a couple minutes. He was going to apologize for the delay when he realized Berwald wasn't there anymore. He looked around, confused and slightly worried, but couldn't see him. That's when something move at the shop window. A shopkeeper moved the cardboard scenery that separated the little scene from the rest of the shop and took the toy he'd been admiring earlier before disappearing again. Tino barely had the time to feel disappointed before Berwald came out of the shop less than a minute later, holding the little dog.

The Swedish giant walked up to him and handed him the stuffed dog, slightly blushing. "F'r you."

Tino took it, looked at it and needed a moment to understand what had happened. His eyes widened when he realized Berwald had just offered him the toy. "Th-that wasn't necessary!" he exclaimed, panicked. "I promise there was no need for a present I… It's too much, it's…"

"You d'n't w'nt it?" Berwald still had that scary expression but, this time, watching closely, Tino could see something like disappointment and felt guilty immediately.

"No! That's not what I meant! It's… It's very pretty, thank you so much I love it, but I… I don't know what to do in exchange, I…" He did not want to owe him anything.

Berwald seemed to calm down from behind his glasses. "It's f'r you. You d'n't h've t' do an'thing."

Tino was hesitant but Berwald was insisting so he couldn't refuse. He looked at the stuffed toy and melted as he watched those big dark eyes. A happy smile settled on his face and he hugged the little dog close. "Thank you," he said.

Berwald watched him as he cuddled the toy silently, a short while, without looking away for even a second. Tino felt a little uneasy under his insistent gaze but pretended he wasn't. "F'ling bett'r?"

"Huh?" Tino looked at him, not sure he got it right.

Berwald looked away, almost… shyly? "You look'd w'rried," he explained vaguely.

"Ah, no, I assure you, I'm fine! Well… Alright, I am a little tense but it's… probably because of school or…"

"Th't's n't wh't your aur' says."

Tino needed a little more time to decipher that sentence. Berwald seemed to be mumbling more and more. "My aura? What do you mean?"

"'t s'ys y'or sc'r'd."

"What?"

Berwald closed his eyes and took a deep breath. "You. 're. Scared," he articulated slowly.

Tino needed a few seconds to piece the whole conversation together. When he finally understood what Berwald was saying, he mentally slapped himself for how slow he was. The Swedish boy could see auras, so he knew for a while now how he was feeling about his company. Well that was one thing down, now he just had to ask for an explanation. Go Tino, you can do it! "It's nothing it's just that I don't understand why… You're following me around all the time… We barely know each other but you suddenly decided we were together and I don't know what to think and I want to know why you're doing this."

"'cause you're m' w'fe."

Tino frowned and pouted. "I'm not a girl. And I… Don't love you."

Berwald went silent for a moment. His eyes seemed deeper here, like the color of the sea. Tino held his gaze, determined not to back off again. He thought to himself that, when you looked at them long enough, Berwald's eyes weren't actually that scary. You could see emotions in their icy color. Right now, there was sadness, surrounded by a halo of determination.

"It's 'kay," he eventually said. Tino didn't answer, he wasn't sure what to say. Berwald didn't wait for an answer and continued : "Wh'n you meet your soul m'te, you c'n f'll 'n l've 'mmediat'ly b't, m'st 'f the t'me, you need t'me t' 'nderst'nd…"

Berwald stopped. Tino couldn't understand a thing he was saying, it showed on his face. He sighed and let it go. Instead, he reached out and slowly touched Tino's hand. He didn't push it away. "Ev'n 'f 't t'kes t'me, ev'n 'f you're n't read' yet, I w'nna stay w'th you. B'cause I've kn'wn s'nce I've m't you…"

Tino thought through Berwald's words. He barely understood half of them, at best, and wasn't sure what he meant by that. Could he really trust him? Berwald barely ever spoke about himself. No, really, Tino didn't know what to think of it.

So he just stopped thinking about it. He held his little stuffed dog close with his right arm and started walking again down the street. "We need to hurry, the next bus is coming soon," he said like the whole conversation never happened.

Berwald was walking close, and there was a reason for that: Tino still hadn't pushed him away.

* * *

At the corner of the street, half-hidden behind a flowerpot, Elizaveta was frenetically writing something down on a notepad. "I hope you didn't miss anything," she whispered."

Kiku appeared from behind a trashcan and gently tapped his camera. "It's all in the box, Elizaveta-senpai."

* * *

Eduar, Toris and Raivis were alone in the music room. It was kind of like their private hangout, safer than the common room were the Russian boy was bound to be. If someone came to bother them, since they were part of the music club's choir, they could pretend to be practicing so that they'd be left alone. Eduar was surfing on the web, Raivis was reading a comic and Toris was working on his future visions that he'd note down step by step on a sheet of paper.

He'd cross out most of them that kept changing and had to give up on some that were too blurry to mean anything. Up until then, the only really clear image he'd seen was the BTT, obviously planning one of their awful pranks. He was desperately focusing on that one, trying to get details about when it would be time to be careful. He really hoped the three pranksters wouldn't do anything during the party. They'd probably bring some alcohol they found god-knows-where, like every year, but hopefully it wouldn't be anything more…

"Hey, Toris!"

The Lithuanian looked up. Eduar was still focused on his computer but he was sure he was the one who called him. "Yes?"

"You look deep in it, did you see anything interesting?"

Toris took a look at his papers. "I thing the BTT is planning something but I don't know when. There's… Elizaveta who keeps hesitating between a red and a green dress. And I can't see Ivan so maybe he won't be there tonight, but I have no idea why. Oh, and it's raining tomorrow."

"No Ivan tonight? Cool! We'll finally be able to party!" Toris smiled. Eduar was joking of course. Both of them were very introverted when it came to parties. "Do you think the BTT will bring drinks, like last time? I'll ask the girls to take pictures of the "shota" this time."

"I can hear you, you know?" protested said "shota" looking up from his comic.

This time, Toris laughed. "Shota" was what people called Raivis after the shipping club tried to match him with someone, the previous year. His two makeshift friends had heard the term in the yaoists' mouth and kept using it ever since. Although Raivis was the youngest of the three, he loved alcohol and drank every chance he got until he couldn't walk straight. At least, the drinks made him happy, even if he ended in… at least strange positions.

"What girl are you guys dancing with, tonight?" he asked.

"You know we don't dance, Raivis," Eduar said.

"Yes, but there's gotta be a girl or two you like! Parties are the best meet-cute settings!" Raivis was also a romance novel and lovey-dovey poem lover, and had no problem starting "girly" conversations about them.

"Well, if I had to choose one…" Toris started. He needed a moment to think, blushing. His two friends wondered who he was thinking about to look this embarrassed but he quickly turned back a normal shade of pink. "I'd say… Natalya." Eduar looked at him with wide, incredulous eyes. "Yes, I know she is obsessed with her brother but she's very beautiful. And if Ivan isn't here tonight, than there aren't as many risks as there could be."

"But Toris!" Eduar cried with an offended expression. " _I_ was planning on asking her out!"

"Wha- Well yeah, me too!"

Eduar and Toris stared at each other straight in the eye for a few moments, in a staring contest that seemed like it could decide who would win the gorgeous Russian girl's heart. Raivis placed his comic in the middle to make it a tie. "You're not going to fight over her, are you?" he said, taking it back.

"No, you're right, it'd be stupid," Toris admitted.

"We'll just let her choose," Eduar finished. Raivis let out a sigh that made both the other boys turn to him. "What about you?"

"What, me?"

"You've got things to tell us too! Which girl would you like to go out with?"

Raivis blushed wildly and looked away. "Nobody."

The older one send him a dubious look and he sat back into his chair. "We told you who we were into so it's your turn, "shota"." Raivis frowned and muttered something they couldn't hear. "Sorry, what?"

"…-sha."

"Be even more quiet, maybe we'll hear it better."

Raivis tensed up even more, took a deep breath and finally said a name. "… Katyusha."

There was a long silence. Toris and Eduar stared at him with unfathomable expressions and the only comment the Latvian boy got was from Eduar: "She could be your mom."

"Don't say that, she's not that old."

"She can drive and you're not even fifteen. So she could be your mom."

"You know, if it's because of her breasts, there are other pretty girls…" tried Toris.

Raivis rolled his eyes and went back to his comic. He wasn't expecting his "friends" to understand anyway. Eduar and Toris started talking again about who had the best chances with Natalya.

"And why don't you try seducing your lovely roomie?" Eduar joked with a sly grin.

Toris rolled his eyes. "Leave her- him out of this."

"Beautiful slip up."

"Stop it."

"What, you look like you're getting along."

"He's nice but way too annoying."

"I thought you loved getting stepped on…"

"Not true! And I'm not even gay!" Someone coughed from the room's door, interrupting them. As one, they turned and spotted the Polish boy watching them with a mocking expression. Toris blushed, praying that Feliks had heard as little as possible. Then he wondered why it bothered him and blushed even more.

"I know you got, like, tons of stuff to talk about but Luna said that, like, Tor-Tor totally had to get ready because he's got to help preparing the party room."

Toris glanced at his watch and hurriedly put his stuff back in his bag. "Gosh, I didn't know it was already that late."

"See you later "Tor-Tor"," Eduar laughed as he walked to the door. Toris didn't answer and just followed his roommate.


	11. Just one night

Peter was jumping around excitedly in his brand new suit. He had never had the opportunity to wear one like this and thought he looked as cool as James Bond. Tino laughed as he barrel rolled through the room, fingerguns ready. The Finnish boy was just brushing his blond hair and putting on his tie with the help of the little mirror built in the closet door.

Peter sprung up next to him and leaned on his back like he was checking for hidden enemies, glancing left and right like they were surrounded by an angry mob. "Don't worry miss, I'll get us out of here alive!" he said with a voice he wanted to be mature but ended up sounding more like one of Snow-White's dwarves than 007's.

Tino should have felt offended but he just laughed and played along, taking a defensive stance. "I trust you, mister Kirkland," he said in all seriousness.

"Please… Call me Peter."

They both giggled and started a wild chase through the room, to the sound of mock gunshots, shouting and laughing. Peter eventually fell on the floor, simulating a gun wound, and Tino kneeled next to him, trying his best not to laugh at the little boy who completely overacted his agony. "No! Peter, you'll be alright!"

"Oh... Argh… Uh… Tina… You were… an exceptional partner… Stay alive, it's my last will."

Peter cringed a smile and started spasming on the floor, making sorrowful gurgling noises as Tino pretended to lament and cried heartbreaking sobs. He wanted to go an extra mile by taking the boy by the shoulders and shaking him desperately but he slipped on the wooden floor and feel on top of the younger one who, this time, didn't simulate the pain.

"Ugh, Tino, I know I'm already dead but you're going to kill me."

Tino couldn't answer, he just stood, shaken by his fit of laughter, as Peter joined him in his hilarity. When they finally calmed down, Tino pouted, noticing how messy they both looked after their little game and started fixing Peter's suit the best he could. The boy let him, lost in thoughts.

"Thinking about someone special?" Tino asked maliciously after a few moments.

Peter blushed abruptly and started stuttering something Tino could not understand. He laughed and went back to the mirror to fix his own outfit and comb his messy hair. The little British boy stayed quiet for a few moments before asking with a timid voice: "Say, Tino, do you know how to ask a girl out?"

Tino smiled a little wider at his reflection. "It depends on which girl and where you want to take her…" he said casually, without turning around.

Peter jumped up and down a little and didn't seem to mind when Tino turned around and tried to brush his hair.

Tino liked his little roomie. After all, he had always loved children. And although Peter firmly denied it, his behavior was very much like an eight years old's. Maybe his physical age had an influence on his personality? Or maybe he was just like that. Whatever it was, Tino felt very protective of him. He had always wanted a younger brother.

Peter had gone quiet. He went and sat on his bed and started fiddling with his fingers like he lacked the nerve to say something. Tino sighed and reached for the plastic bag he had brought back from town.

"If I know one thing about girls," he started. He threw something at Peter who caught it. He opened his hands to reveal a beautiful white orchid bracelet. Tino laughed at his dumbfounded face. "it's that they love flowers," he finished.

Peter smiled at him. "Thank you."

"Don't mention it."

Peter admired the bracelet for a moment and frowned. "But didn't you buy it for someone? A girl?"

"No, it's all yours. I thought it could help you catch Rachelle's eyes…"

Peter blushed some more and Tino laughed again. The younger boy pouted, he didn't like it when people laughed at him. Was he that obvious? How did Tino know he had a crush on the pretty captain? Suddenly, his expression changed and a malicious smile settled on his face. "But aren't you going with somebody?"

"Hum? Yes, with Berwald." Peter smirked at him and it was Tino's turn to blush abruptly. "As friends, you know? W-we talked this out today – I think – and we're only going as friends! Besides there will be Mathias, Lukas and Emil too so yeah."

"Wow, ok, I didn't say anything! You're still pretty red right now though…"

Tino bit his lip. It wasn't like him to get so worked up. Maybe the conversation he had earlier with the Swedish giant had affected him more than he thought…

* * *

The party center was a five minutes walk away from the dorms, not very far from the amphitheater. At seven, a long line of students in suits and ball gowns was walking on the road leading to it. When Antonio reached the door, along with his gorgeous Bella holding onto his arm in a shimmering golden dress, he immediately spotted his two friends waiting for him by the entrance. Neither of them had a date and Antonio felt almost proud of being the only one with a girlfriend. He waved at them and led Bella in their direction, ignoring the steady rhythm of the music flowing from the ballroom's door. " _Holà, chicos_!" he exclaimed as he reached them.

" _Salut_ , Nini. Bella."

" _Hallo_ , Antonio. You're late," Gilbert groaned.

"Ah, _lo siento_. But hey, it's not like you are making anyone wait, right?" the Spaniard joked.

Gilbert frowned and smirked. He lifted an arm and moved it forward slightly, like he was gently pushing on someone's back. "Antonio, meet Matthew," he said proudly.

Antonio looked at the empty space next to Gilbert and lifted an eyebrow. "Uh… You gave your hand a name?"

Francis and Bella chuckled on the side. Gilbert lost his smile and a transparent form appeared where his arm was. Matthew had a shy smile before he vanished again before the Spaniard's surprised gaze. "Pleased to meet you," said his quiet voice. "We've already seen each other but we weren't introduced."

Gilbert threw a fit of laughter at his friend's puzzled face and held his invisible partner's shoulders, not angry anymore. "He's my awesome student in awesomeness," he summarized.

"Ah, right," Antonio said, giving up on questions. "What about Don Juan? Where's his date?"

"My charm scared my adorable bunny away and he refused to leave his burrow…" Francis sighed.

"Which means: Arthur is locked up in his room again."

Antonio laid a compassionate hand on his friend's shoulder and quickly changed the subject: "Is everything ready for tonight?"

The French boy's face lit up. "Tim has the bottles. Apple and grape juice tonight!"

The three boys shared a malicious look. On the side, Bella chuckled slightly and told her boyfriend she was going to go meet her friends in the ballroom while he talked. Matthew had nobody to go meet so he stayed by his date to listen silently. Of course, he knew what they were talking about. Despite the two principals' ban, the Bad Touch Trio always managed to smuggle in some beer or some wine, sometimes even vodka, for parties. Tim, Bella's older brother, was their accomplice as soon as he was payed.

The entire school knew, including the new kids who were most probably informed by now. It wasn't official but Matthew was sure most teachers knew as well. It wasn't a rare occurrence to see Mrs. Bonnefoy ask for some "grape juice" in a strangely cheerful manner. But everybody let it slide because, honestly, a party without alcohol was good for twelve years olds but over half the students were almost of drinking age (according to their respective countries).

"What about the surprise?"

"I've got it," the albino declared, grinning menacingly. "Shit is gonna go down."

This time, Matthew was a little lost. He was hoping the BTT wouldn't do anything stupid this time, but maybe he was asking for too much. At least, this time, he was lucky enough to be on the prankster's side.

"May I know what it is?" the Canadian asked shyly.

Gilbert turned to him and smirked. "Let's just say it'd be better to avoid the fruit cocktail after a certain hour…"

* * *

The mood was already lit inside. The academy's party room was some sort of large indoors gym, minus the equipment. The floating wooden floor was perfect for dancing and the white walls had long been painted over with a beautiful, colorful, abstract frieze that kinda looked like the negative of a carnival picture. Benches and chairs had been placed by the walls for the wallflowers and the ones that had to sit out. A large buffet was spread on the left side of the room, covered in plates of pizza, biscuits and small pieces of grilled meat and vegetables on sticks. Right next to it, the dessert table offered a wide glass bowl of fruit cocktail and a large plate of cream puffs. And then there was the booth where Tim was giving everyone drinks.

On the opposite side, the dancefloor was packed with groups of students dancing awkwardly to tonight's DJ, Ling's music. The young boy from Hong Kong mostly played popular music he knew but, since he was trying to be inclusive, he'd mix many styles and origins. It was still very funny to hear him speaking Cantonese in the middle of a Macarena or some dubstep. If you were brave enough to get closer to his mixing table in spite of the sound levels that could crumble your eardrums, you would notice the presence of another boy, sitting against the wall behind him, obviously sulking. And if you stayed for a while, you'd realize the DJ and the sulker were probably brothers since they looked so much alike.

In the middle of the dancefloor, Alfred was doing what he did best, calling people's attention. But this time, he was doing pretty well. If you just forgot his tendency to yell that he was a hero before a new move, it became obvious he had rhythm and knew how to dance. His navy blue suit didn't even seem to bother him. The other kids surrounded him, dancing weakly as they admired his near-professional toprock.

"He's a real showman," Kiku commented for himself. The Japanese was sitting by the dancefloor and silently twisting his own neck so he could see whatever could be seen from where he was. He would have closed in to see better but he didn't like standing in crowds when he could avoid them. Besides, he was about as good of a dancer as a slug with arthritis, he didn't want to look ridiculous as he'd be the only one standing still.

A chorus of voices from the group of students informed him Alfred had just made a pretty impressive move and he felt a little upset he missed it.

"You can't see nothing from here, can you, aru?" said a voice on his left. He looked and met Yao's gaze. He remembered talking with him a little in the playground but he didn't know him that much, so he just nodded politely.

"Indeed."

"Come on," the Chinese boy said, standing up. "Let's get closer."

Kiku shook his head. "Thank you but I don't danc…"

He couldn't finish his sentence. Yao grabbed his hand and pulled him onto the dancefloor, almost making him trip. "You have to do these things while you're young!" the older boy told him in a stern voice.

Kiku wanted to shake him off but Yao's grip was tight and he pulled him through the group of students. The Japanese boy sighed and eventually started vaguely moving his shoulders while shifting his weight to pretend he was dancing. He didn't know what to do with his body, he didn't like dances where you were supposed to improvise, he was always worried he'd look ridiculous. He looked at the middle of the dancefloor where Alfred was now doing a waving combination. At least now he could see better and realize how good he was.

Kiku discreetly moved towards him without stopping his mock-dance. Ling was playing catchy electro music the American's moves synched with perfectly. He was smiling and trying harder to impress the kids watching him. Alfred really looked at home in all this attention. Suddenly, he looked up and their eyes met for a second. Kiku shivered without knowing why and, before he knew it, an enthusiastic grip had taken hold of him, pulling him to the center of the dancefloor. Kiku's eyes went wide when he realized the American had pulled him into his arms without even stopping his moves. "Wha… Alfred! No… I… I can't… I don't…" he panicked.

"Hey there, calm down!" the American smiled. He took advantage of a more quiet moment in the beat to whisper into his ear. "I'll guide you, alright?"

He didn't wait for an answer and just started a new combination of moves, each more daring, making the Japanese boy dance with him. Kiku tried to follow but he soon realized he didn't have to do much. Alfred was making him turn, jump, move without him having to think. He kept losing balance, and each time, the American would find a way to get him back on his feet in a way that made his awkwardness look like skill. A clear sound ringed in his ears and Kiku realized it was his own laugh. He was laughing out loud, letting himself being washed over by Alfred's wave of enthusiasm, and he couldn't help it. It was the first time he danced like that. It was amazing. He felt light like a bird. Really, there were no words for this. He let Alfred guide him, laughing all the way with his clear voice.

When the music slowed down, hinting at the end of the music, Alfred winked at Kiku and threw him in the air. The Japanese boy screamed from a mix of surprise and fear as his partner dropped down in an impressive suicide. Then, as the brunet was going to fall, Alfred suddenly turned around on his back and caught him by the hips, horizontally. Kiku felt his limbs open from the shock, in a posture reminiscent of an impaled body. The music stopped, and a brief silence settled before all the students started cheering for the dancer and his less-than-willing partner.

Kiku breathed heavily, still shocked by that finale. Alfred set him down and he felt his legs tremble from the fatigue and emotion. The American stood up without any problem though, and smirked cheekily at him. Kiku gave him the neutral face of displeasure and punched him in the arm. "I almost had a heart attack, Alfred!"

"Ahaha! Not my fault you can't improvise!" the American laughed.

Kiku glared at him and moved away from the dancefloor. But the shadow of a smile was still hanging onto his lips. He hadn't liked the surprise, but he had to admit he had never had this much fun before.

* * *

Yao didn't regret pulling his neighbor on the dancefloor. Kiku didn't look like it but he was an excellent dancer. The Chinese boy wasn't necessarily a big fan of that kind of dance, but he had to admit that finale was amazing. He moved away from the dancefloor as well and headed to the buffet, even if he knew he was about to be upset because the meals wouldn't taste good enough.

Almost everyone was there and it was getting hard to walk through the room. Yao spotted a group of flowery young girl, also known as the "psycho yaoist weirdo club", Feliciano and Ludwig talking in a corner (one was blushing, the other one was fidgeting with his fingers, they'd need a miracle not to get noticed by the crazy ladies), Lovino who had realized asking Tim for "grape juice" was a good idea and now had cheeks a little too red and a tongue a little too loose, Francis flirting, Antonio laughing, Gilbert dancing with… Air, maybe. Anyway, the party was going great.

Yao didn't immediately understand when he realized too late people were moving away from him. "Good evening, Yao-Yao!" a playful voice breathed in his ear.

The Chinese almost had a heart attack and jumped six feet away from… that creep!

Ivan gave him an amused look, which wasn't necessarily a good thing. However, Yao did notice his black, classic suit that almost made his giant silhouette look thinner. He had, as always, kept his scarf for the evening. Was that guy really that sensitive to cold?

"You look great, tonight, Yao-Yao," the Russian complimented with a small smile, checking out his dark grey suit.

"Uh… Thanks, aru…" the shorter boy answered awkwardly. "You… uh… Well you don't look bad either, aru!"

He felt his heart quickening. Damn it, why did this always have to happen? In the background, the music was slowing down, turning into a slightly rhythmic slowdance. The Russian's playful smirk widened and he grabbed his wrist. Oh. No. "Come, let's dance!" Ivan said pulling him towards the dancefloor again.

It was an order more than an offer, but Yao was not complying. Especially since the heat born in his wrist under the cold Russian hand was being added to by the ambiance and crawling into his quickly speeding heart. He had to calm down or leave right now!

He struggled in vain in his jailer's grip. He stomped on his foot, pulled, cursed, nothing worked. Annoyed, he eventually used the Russian's weak spot: "Oh, hey, isn't that Alfred dancing with Natalia?"

"What?!" Ivan turned and his attention weakened for a few seconds, which were enough for Yao to slip away and start running as fast as he could towards the closest bathroom. Even a broom closet would be enough, as long as he was alone.

He burst into the dark and empty corridor, trying to make his way through the darkness. He tried to calm down. Everything would be fine, Ivan never followed him when… He was a few feet away from the bathrooms when he heard footsteps behind him. Damn it, first time for everything…

He hurried more, locked himself up in the first stall and sat on the toilet seat, shaking from fear and trying to calm down the frenetic thumps of his heart. He knew, he felt the Russian boy was approaching. But he couldn't for dear life appease that heat in his chest, that tingle in his veins. He felt terrified and yet the sensation didn't manage to seem unpleasant to him. A strange mix of joy and fear that destroyed his mind. Why, even after three years of training, could he still not control himself?

On the other side of the door, Ivan walked up calmly. His icy purple eyes scanned all the booths until he located the only one that was locked shut. "Yao-Yao…" he warned with a sweet voice, gently knocking three times on the door. "Open! If you don't, I will open it…"

The Chinese boy didn't answer, busy pretending he wasn't there.

"Yao… One… Two…" The Russian took a deep breath and kicked the door open. Yao was sitting on the toilet seat, knees up to his chest in a fetal position. Ivan noticed his fingers clenching his sleeves as he heard him approaching. The Chinese really looked terrorized, it was the first time he was seeing him like this. Surprised at first, he then felt a deep annoyance coming over him. He couldn't understand why his roommate would run from him so much when he was trying to be courteous with him. Yes, courteous. Might as well be honest, he was attracted to Yao since they first met. If he hadn't, he would have just made him another one of his "friends", like Toris, Eduar or Raivis. And Ivan didn't like not understanding what was keeping him from having his way.

He grasped his wrist and the young man let out a panicked cry. "Let me go, let me go, let me go…" he repeated in a strangely high-pitched voice. But Ivan was having none of this. He pulled on his arm and forced the other up. Yao lost balance and accidentally fell forward and onto his attacker's chest, freezing. Ivan stopped as well. Surprised.

Normally, that kind of thing isn't possible. Maybe he was dreaming, or he was having delusions. But it seemed to him that Yao's chest was slightly flatter five minutes ago, like any boy's chest. But right now he could feel two… two… two round and soft things, stuck between him and the brunet. He pushed him away by the shoulders and, ignoring the pair of pleading brown eyes staring at him, put a hand on Yao's chest.

… Woah…

Growing more and more curious and not listening to the other boy's angry protests, he reached down lower and his eyes went wide. "But… Aren't you supposed to be a guy?"

Yao shrieked as he pulled away, as embarrassed as he was pissed off, eyes wet. "Of course I'm a guy, aru! Well… Most of the time…"

His voice had turned into a girl's too. _A very thin and pretty voice, actually_ , the Russian boy thought, still caught in his own amazement.

They stayed there, staring at each other in the eye, until Ivan decided the bathrooms weren't the best place for explanations. He took hold of the brunet's arm again, and Yao wildly protested until the bully whispered in his ear with a voice like ripped cotton: "You shouldn't scream like that or others will wonder why you're so angry on a party night. Maybe we should tell them you're having your period, da?"

"I don't have periods, aru!" the boy hissed, lowering his voice however. He let his roommate tell Luna, chaperoning from a corner of the room, that they were tired and going back to the dorms. He send Yao a look and waved them out. From the young woman's smile, Ivan realized she knew everything.

They walked silently all the way to the dorms. By the time they were there, Yao went back to a normal voice and body. Back in their room, Ivan closed the door and they sat down, each on their own bed, facing each other without knowing what to say. Eventually, Ivan snapped out of his surprise and asked: "How long has my Yao-Yao been hiding this to me?"

'Yao-Yao' groaned at his nickname. "Since the first year, aru. I didn't really know about it at the time, it's when we both settled into this room that it started."

"How do you do it?"

"I don't do it on purpose, aru! It does it on its own! Luna said it's another power I have. Hermaphrodism. Except I never managed to control it…" There was a moment of silence, just long enough for Yao to understand avoiding the question wouldn't work. "It only happens when I have a strong emotion…" he explained, almost whispering. "When I get angry or embarrassed or horn…" He suddenly stopped as he realized what he was about to say, but it was too late. Ivan easily figured out what he meant.

A thin smile showed up on his face as he stood up to sit by Yao's side. The brunet wanted to scoot away but he held his wrist again. "Or what?" he asked in his innocent voice, the one that meant he was definitely planning something.

"Or… or… Let go, aru!"

Ivan let go of his right wrist and caught the other one with a large, amused smile. Yao suddenly regretted leaving his lighter in his bedside table's drawer for the night. "There! So? Or what?"

"I told you to let go, aru!"

"I did! So answer me: or what?"

"You… you… Ayah!" Too fast! Too fast! His heart was beating way too fast! And this time, there was nowhere to run. Might as well say it loud and clear. Yao took a deep breath, both to say it all at once and to vainly try to calm down. "…Or-horny-because-you're-too-close-to-me-and-talking-to-me-with-your-stupid-voice-that's-way-too-sexy-aru," he uttered quickly, blushing, as his voice rose to new heights and as two bumps formed again on his chest.

There was a moment of silence as Ivan tried to piece together what his roomie had just said. When that was done, his smile grew even larger (I swear that's possible!), throwing goosebumps down the brunet's back, which Yao didn't have the time to tell if it was fear or that stupid attraction he had been fighting for over three years now. Ivan let go of his wrist and instead ran his hand over the Asian's cheek in a gesture that was surprisingly gentle, his cheerful amethyst eyes diving into Yao's. "That means my Yao-Yao thinks I'm sexy, da?"

"…Y… Yes," he admitted in a tiny, adorable voice. He had barely said that when a pair of greedy lips latched onto his, requesting an access he allowed without thinking. The Russian's tongue played with his, starting a slow, playful dance with its sibling. Yao wanted to ask what was going on but the reasonable part of his mind had set itself to sleep mode, leaving him alone with his urges and undesirable desire for the pretty Russian boy. He let his changing body react to the kiss, not trying to hide himself anymore. His heart was still thrumming crazily and a pleasant warmth was spreading in his chest. He felt good, like a weight had been lifted from his shoulders.

Ivan was kissing him with a growing passion, pushing him onto the bed until he was above him. Yao barely noticed. They broke apart to catch their breath. Panting, Yao saw his own hands gripping the Russian's shoulders, like they wanted more. Ivan had that innocent smirk. The two amethyst he had for eyes were shining with glee. He lowered his face to Yao's ear and whispered: " _Ya lyublyu tebya, Yao-Yao. I vy lyubite menya tozhe, da? Vy khotite, chtoby lyubov' so mnoy, da_?"

Yao couldn't speak Russian, but Ivan's tone and gaze meant everything. His conscience jolted awake and he hesitated, but then, the way he was held got rid of all doubts he could have had. He looked him in the eyes and nodded slowly. " _Shi_."

Then, suddenly, as if that word had awaken something else in him, Yao pulled Ivan close and kissed him fiercely. There was so much in that kiss, more than in the first. Desire. Frustration, accumulated for three long years. Attraction. Anger. Fondness. Passion. And maybe, in the way their tongues hugged each other, love.

He felt the russian's hands slip under his clothes. His jacket was gone, then his shirt. He shivered when he felt the icy skin on his, burning. But he wasn't scared anymore. It wasn't a nightmare anymore. He didn't care anymore, that Ivan could see his body go from male to female. His heart could thrum as much as it wanted. That heat he had hated could settled for good in his chest. His body could take whatever shape it felt like. He didn't care. No matter if he was a boy or a girl. He wanted to love Ivan. And he wanted Ivan to love him. In that way he had wanted for so long.

He shivered when a pair of greedy lips sucked on his shoulder.

He sighed happily under the icy, burning hands.

He let go.

For one night, just one night, he was no longer a circus monster.

* * *

Sitting at her window, Gaia listened to the faint echo of the music coming from the party down below. She had a mug of tea in her hands and would take long burning sips without even a wince. She was smiling, amused, even though she knew she'd have a hard time sleeping that night. Knowing everything that happened around was certainly a useful power when you had to take care of students. But at night, it could be very annoying.

A fond smile slipped from her mouth. "Love sure is beautiful," she whispered softly. She would have said that youth was beautiful but she wouldn't say something that made her sound like a grandma. She wasn't that old, for heaven's sake!

She thought of something and blushed briefly. She really hoped it wouldn't be too much of a problem…


	12. A little friend's kiss

" _E-e-e poi ho d-d-detto "tesoro, sei anche un-n-na classe di pomodoro. P-p-p-posso assaggiare ? Qua e là ... non mi ricordo, ma è stato bello._.." A cough interrupted Lovino's story. His conversation partner didn't bat an eye, placidly waiting for him to continue. But Lovino was done. Thus, there was a long awkward silence between the two individuals.

The young Italian wasn't really sure of how many glasses of wine he drank. Well, glasses of "grape juice" actually, but it didn't matter. It was wine, and very good wine if he could say so. Not the best, but very good. It wasn't his first time secretly drinking wine. And he could hold his drink very well! He was still very coherent right now, wasn't he? And, well, the fact that he could only speak Italian right now, that didn't count, right? He was stuttering a little, but nothing too bad. It was just a little late so he was very tired, that's all. Besides, English was fucking difficult!

He rubbed his eyes and scanned the room. Not too far, right by the buffet, he spotted his brother talking with the potato bastard. He groaned a little to show he wasn't happy but, even though he hated that fucking Aryan, he had to admit it was funny to see him turn bright red when Feliciano came a little too close to him. He turned again to his conversation partner who was still completely impassive. " _Questo è il mio fratellino lì. E 'troppo carino, giusto? E 'così gay ... Si sta benissimo con che le patate bastardo mangiatore, previene. Due gay carino. Non dirlo a nessuno ho detto, va bene?_ "

No answer. Lovino took his neighbor's silence for a yes. He was a nice neighbor. Not very talkative but at least he wasn't pissing him off. Lovino looked again to the spot where his little brother had apparently found a good enough excuse to cling to the blond guy who held him close, red as a tomato. Lovino suddenly wanted to cry. He didn't have anybody who'd be this kind to him! He wanted someone who'd give him hugs sometimes too! Being alone sucked! If only he could find a girl… But almost all of them were already in a relationship, and there weren't many that he liked… A guy would be easier, but he didn't want to be called a faggot. If he couldn't compensate the manliness level for his brother, what would happen to them?

" _Aaaah, sono stanco di essere solo_!" he whined. " _Infine, tu sei tu qui ma non è lo stesso, sai_?" His neighbor didn't get offended, still listening calmly. " _Beh, io ti amo, ma io voglio che qualcuno bene a darmi un abbraccio_..."

He scanned the room again, squinting to see through all the mist. Not so far, he noticed Antonio laughing with his sexy looks. Yeah, the Spaniard was really sexy. And even if he was dumb, he was nice. Dumb, nice and sexy, that was good!

Somewhere behind the mist, he heard someone saying he must be extremely drunk to think that, but he batted the little voice away.

" _Antonio, è buono. Pensi che dovrei andare a chiedere a lui? So che ha una fidanzata, ma chi se ne frega, giusto_?" Another approving silence. Lovino smiled and jumped on his feet. The ground shook a little and leaned to the right so he caught himself on the bench before falling. He struggled back up and smiled at the person he was talking to. " _Non si parla molto, ma io ti amo bene. Arrivederci!_ "

Then, he turned around and crossed the room to go meet with the sexy Spaniard that was going to give him a hug, struggling to keep his balance in spite of the floor that pitched like a boat

Behind him, the potted plant had just had the most interesting conversation in its entire life.

* * *

"Antonio, _mi tieni fra le tue braccia, bastardo_!"

Antonio turned around when he heard his name, just in time to catch a young Italian falling in his arms. Lovino wrapped his arms around his waist and clung to him like he was about to fall. Ah, that was it actually, he couldn't stand on his legs. "Uh… Lovi? What's going on?"

" _Zitto, stronzo. Voglio che tu mi faccia un abbraccio ... E mi baci ... Non c'è nessuno che mai mi ha baciato ... Perché? Non sono da baciare?_ " And like he wanted to demonstrated what he meant, Lovino burst into tears for no reason, wiping his drenched cheeks with the shirt of a very confused Antonio. He couldn't speak Italian. It sounded a little like Spanish so he could make up a few theories… But even then he wasn't sure his translation was accurate because, even in his wildest dreams, he wouldn't dare imagine Lovino asking for a hug and a kiss. That was surreal.

Antonio took Lovino by the shoulder to try and make him stand straight. Lovino gave him a cloudy gaze. He looked lost, eyes still glistening with tears, lips slightly open, frowning from frustration. He was shaking like he was cold. Seeing him like this, Antonio felt his heart leap in his chest. He already thought Lovino was cute for a boy but now… There was something more that he couldn't quite understand. Even Bella never had that effect on him, even if he could claim loud and clear that his girlfriend was the most beautiful girl he knew.

Slightly panicked, he tried to snap out of it. Lovino wasn't feeling well, now was not the time to compare him with Bella. Slowly as to not surprise him (who knew), the Spaniard bent towards the younger boy who didn't look away, bringing their faces closer together. Lovino violently blushed but Antonio was focused on something else. The Italian kid stank of wine, he had definitely had too much to drink. Antonio thought angrily of Tim who never payed attention to who he gave drinks to or how many times, even when it came to the younger ones. He didn't seem to realize there were still children in the room!

" _Baciami_ ," Lovino muttered through the alcoholic haze. " _Baciami, per favore_ , Antonio."

Antonio sighed. Lovino didn't realize what he was saying, he was completely drunk. Better bring him back to his room before one of the teachers noticed the mistake. They ignored the alcohol drinking at parties mostly because the trio was always able to cover the hiccups and trouble. If something happened to Lovino, the headmistresses would most probably take steps. He looked up, searching the dancefloor for his friends to help him. Gilbert was busy with his invisible boyfriend. As for Francis, he couldn't see h…

"Boo!" Antonio jumped as his French friend laughed, having jumped behind him like a ghost. He glared at him but the blond boy didn't mind, more interested instead in the short brunet who still had his arms clinging to Antonio's waist, giving him a lost and enamored gaze. "Well, _mon amour de tomate_ , cheating on Bella, are we?" Francis smiled, ready to burst out laughing.

"Shut up, Francis, we're in deep _mierda_ right now. We have to get him out of here, Lovino's drunk."

Francis bent forward towards the Italian boy who didn't notice him, lost in the contemplation of a button on Antonio's shirt. "Ah, yes, can't argue with that," Francis confirmed. "Can he walk?" he asked, pointing at Lovino's trembling legs.

"He should, with some help."

"It's going to be difficult, Luna's keeping the door. We need to call Gigi."

Without further ado, Francis strode onto the dancefloor, slipping between the dancers without a care in the world, grabbing the albino's shoulder on the way and pulling him to the side. Antonio watched from afar as they briefly snapped at each other, then Gilbert calmed down, sighed and nodded half-heartedly. Well that was done, now they just needed to wait for the signal.

"Antonio. _Voglio un abbraccio_ ," Lovino whined as he pressed himself a little closer to the Spaniard. Antonio hesitated a little, not really knowing what to do. Instinctively, he closed his arms around Lovino who almost started to purr. His heart started fluttering again and he had no idea why this was happening. He just held the younger boy close, hoping that he wouldn't grow agitated before they could leave without getting caught…

* * *

Mathias had been snickering for five long minutes now. Berwald really wanted to shut him up with a good kick in the ass but he didn't move. He deserved to be made fun of anyway.

Away from there, on the dancefloor, Tino was dancing alone, and obviously enjoying himself. He didn't have any particular style or talent for dancing but his smile was brighter than the spotlights, so bright it seemed to light up the entire room. He cheerfully rocked himself around, teasing Lukas and Emil who were sort of slowly swinging side by side in a corner. "Seriously, dude, you got scared?!"

Berwald clenched his fist as Mathias kept laughing. Did he really have to kick him when he was already down? He _had_ panicked when Tino tried to pull him in the middle of the room for a dance. The reason? He didn't dance. At least, not in front of everyone. It wasn't that he _couldn't_ dance, even he knew that. But when someone looked at him, he would just freeze. So dancing with the one he had recognized as his soulmate… He would have never had the nerve. Tino already didn't seem thrilled when they were together, if he saw him freeze in front of everyone, he would definitely think he was even more ridiculous… "C'n you shut 'p, M'thias?" he groaned, hardly standing his mockery anymore.

"But seriously, Ber'! You're the one who keeps trying to seduce him — emphasis on 'try' because honestly, with you panicking all the time…"

"M'thias…"

"I mean really! You have to tell him you're doing your best but you're just too scared whenever you try to speak!"

Berwald sighed. Why had he ever confessed anything to that idiot, again? "I c'n't…"

"You're so dumb! Tino's terrified too! You are two big dummies who can't admit you like each other! Seriously, if you spoke a little more and acted a little less like a possessive stalker, he'd be a lot happier with you. Are you trying to smother him?"

"Th'nks. B't you should keep your n'se out of m' bus'ness and in your 'wn." He was not about to follow the advice of a guy who couldn't even seduce his own Norwegian. Mathias was a dunce when it came to romance, he was sure of it.

"You're a real ass, Ber'," Mathias pretended to snap. However, he added with a malicious smile: "If I prove to you that I'm not as bad as you when it comes to love, will you tell me if I have my chances with Lukas?"

"Told you. I don't r'veal that, to 'nyone." Mathias regularly harassed him to know if Lukas was his soulmate but Berwald had always refused to tell him. Firstly because it was against his principles to force destiny, secondly because he liked to mess with his oldest friend by letting him doubt. Mathias would know sooner or later anyway, no need to tell him anything.

"Ok." Berwald almost jumped at the short and neutral answer. Had he not seen Mathias's lips move, he would have sworn that the idiot who never leave the last word to anyone wouldn't ever let it go so easily.

After that short answer, Mathias strode away, leaving his friend to his surprise. His malicious smile hadn't left his face. It was time for the King of the Nordics to do his weekly good deed! Plugging his ears with his fingers, he walked up to the DJ to ask Ling something. He agreed. Then he went back to the dancefloor, dancing as he moved, and arrived next to Tino the moment the rhythm was slowing down into a waltz-like slow. Several students left the floor, giving the couples the spotlight.

"Come on, let's dance," he told Tino who blinked at him, surprised. He didn't give him time to answer and pulled him close, spinning him around to the music. Lukas and Emil who had moved to the side when the music changed shared a look. Lukas gave his arm to his brother who shrugged but took it anyway. They walked back onto the floor and started dancing awkwardly, just stepping in synch. Mathias took a look at them and felt his heart swell with joy when he noticed Lukas was glancing his way frequently.

The big fish now.

He looked the other way. From the other side of the room, Berwald was staring at them with a stunned face slowly giving way to anger and jealousy. But it didn't seem to be enough yet. Mathias turned to a silent Tino, imprisoned in the Danish arms. He obviously had no idea what was going on all of a sudden. Good.

Mathias held him tighter, pressing the Finnish boy even closer. He felt him trying to pull away but held on. Another glance informed him that Berwald was fuming now. Good, one more strike would break the camel's back. He leaned slowly towards a very confused Tino and apologized. Tino didn't have the time to ask him what for before he pressed a quick kiss on his lips.

Tino pushed him away more firmly this time. His chestnut eyes were mixed with anger and confusion. Oh, he'd get it, Berwald had just decided to get his ass in motion and was now powerwalking towards them. With a smile, Mathias pushed Tino his way so that, when Tino lost his balance, Berwald was right behind to catch him. In the same motion, Mathias slipped between Lukas and Emil and stole the eldest.

There was a short moment of awkward silence between Berwald and Tino. Neither of them dared to move of talk. After a while, Berwald eventually helped Tino on his feet. They faced each other, looking away. Then Berwald offered his hand to the younger boy. "Wann' d'nce?"

Damn it, why did he always make even less sense when he was nervous? Tino stayed still for a while, like he was weighting the pros and cons. Then he shrugged, smiled and took Berwald's hand. He panicked for a second, not daring to move, even less to dance. Tino noticed and couldn't help but laugh a little. And in the end, he was the one to lead the slow dance.

Berwald had the most neutral expression ever but, internally, he was screaming from joy. He had to admit Mathias was not that bad in the end…

Six feet away, a Danish boy was being strangled by a Norwegian after his little brother had tripped because of a sudden separation.

Okay. He wasn't that bad, except with Lukas.

Tino was gazing at him with his adorable hazel eyes, a smile on his lips, cheeks slightly pink as he guided the dance. Berwald couldn't help but think it was the cutest think in the world. On top of that, his aura of golden yellow mixed with discreet pink around his heart was the brightest in the room. His soul was so beautiful…

Berwald choked back a sigh. If only Tino could see how identical their vibe frequencies were, how their mixed and completed each other as they were so close. If only he knew how much his heart was swollen with sincerity, if he knew how much he already loved him. If only he could tell him, then maybe that spot of fear he could often see would fade away and he'd realize he loved him too. They were soulmates after all.

In the meantime, he didn't know if it was because of the changing mood but the Finnish boy seemed particularly at ease. Maybe… Maybe he'd try telling him? He felt a ball of nerve rise in his throat and forced it back down. Calm down. Start with the important stuff. He shouldn't be afraid. And speak slowly and clearly, to be sure he'll understand. Come on, Ber'! Go!

"Tino…" The blond boy nodded in acknowledgement. Berwald felt his heart do a triple loop for those round, innocent eyes waiting for him to speak. He tried to stay calm and to remember to speak clearly. "I w'nt to tell you I…"

A long shrill startled him. Everyone in the room panicked when they saw, bursting into the room… A white tiger.

Ah, that was just Gilbert and his untasteful jokes. He was probably trying to scare the first years, once more. Luna left her station by the door to run after the tiger who was having a blast growling at impressionable students. Tino was scared at first, but soon understood who the animal was and kept watching the show, laughing to his heart's content. Berwald sighed. He really would never be able to confess…

* * *

Luna had just left her station. It was time. Grabbing Lovino's shoulders, Antonio ran outside with the young Italian and slipped into a corner that was unseen from inside the room. Francis joined them after a few moments as everybody calmed down and as the music started again. Gilbert had done his part. Now, all they had to do was bring Lovino back to his room and they could go back to the party.

Antonio stood on Lovino's right, Francis on his left, each grabbed an arm and they left as quickly as possible, almost carrying the boy who went from laughter to tears and back without any obvious logic. When they finally arrived in the student's dorms corridor, Antonio thanked god that Lovino hadn't vomited on the way there.

"What's his room again?" he asked hesitatingly.

Francis shrugged, visibly irritated. Lovino wasn't that light and he didn't like sweating.

"Probably around twenty-something."

"That's going to get us far…"

"Hey! I helped you get him out and carry him so now you better put in a little more effort!"

"Geeze, calm down!"

"I AM calm!"

They looked at each other in the eye for a few seconds. Then they heard a weird noise and looked down. Lovino was blowing bubbles with his mouth. Like a newborn baby. They shared another glance and started giggling nervously.

"Okay, check his pockets for his room's key. He might have it."

Francis nodded and struggled a little to reach the Italian's pocket with his right hand.

"Cici, dude, I said his POCKET! Where are you putting your hand?"

"Oh, come on, he might have hid it in here…"

Antonio glared at him as Francis laughed at his own joke and Lovino looked at his own crotch like he was very seriously wondering what it was exactly.

"Leave it, I'll do it."

Antonio, in turn, managed to free his right hand and sneaked it into one of Lovino's pants pockets. The younger boy jumped and went a deep shape of red, to the point where Antonio actually worried that he couldn't breathe.

" _C-c-c-cosa vuoi, bastardo_?!"

"Everything is going to be alright, okay Lovi?"

"Eh?"

Antonio let out a tired sigh and quickly searched the pocket, then the other, and had a tiny cry of joy when he found the key adorned with a plastic tag marked 24. The two friends pulled Lovino to the right door and opened, taking in instantly the beautiful mess that was the Italian brothers' room. They carried Lovino to one of the beds and pulled his shoes off before tucking him as well as they could under the sheets. Lovino stay perfectly silent and still during the whole process. But when Antonio pulled away, he thrashed about weakly, making high pitched sad noises and kicking the covers off. Francis winced.

"Make him shut up, Nini. There are still people in their rooms, he's going to alert the entire building!"

"What do you want me to do?!"

"I don't know but hurry! There are some that will definitely not notice anything, but Arthur's room isn't very far and you know he's a real snitch!"

Antonio grumbled and walked back to Lovino's bed. The Italian gave him a pleading look that Antonio, despite the circumstances, couldn't help but find irresistible. He seemed terrified of being alone, which seemed quite strange to the Spaniard. Lovino had never seemed particularly fearful, as opposed to his brother who would constantly seek protection from others. That one was aggressive, rude and seemed to really hate physical contact, so why would alcohol turn him into a scared child? He kneeled next to him and could make out some Italian words he didn't understand. Lovino's hand reached out and grabbed his sleeve, shaking. Antonio's heart started thrumming a little louder.

"Do you want me to stay?"

Lovino stared at him for a few moments before nodding frenetically. Antonio sighed and turned to Francis who was watching them with an unfathomable expression.

"Tell Bella I'll be late. I'm going to stay with him until he falls asleep, and then I'll come back. Don't wait for me for the finale, okay?"

"Got it, Nini. Don't do anything you might regret," Francis added with a little smile Antonio couldn't decipher.

The French boy closed the door and the room was drowned in darkness. Lovino started shaking and held Antonio's sleeve tighter. Antonio smiled at him in the dark and ran a soothing hand though his hair. Lovino started pulling on the Spaniard's sleeve and Antonio got the message easily. He took his shoes and jacket off and slipped beneath the covers next to Lovino who snuggled up to him.

Antonio felt slightly embarrassed at first, but eventually passed his arms around Lovino's waist, and the younger boy moaned contently. He had a little smile. Antonio liked to make people feel better, even if he went around playing pranks with his two best friends. Lovino seemed so afraid earlier, he would have never been able to just leave him. He was still shaking in his arms, his face buried in his shirt, whispering words that were too low and fast for him to understand. Antonio wrinkled his nose at the smell of wine and made a mental note that he should go yell at Tim as soon as he could. What if he had given some to Peter or Lily?!

Lovino wasn't calming down and Antonio started to wonder if he was simply scared of the dark. He closed his eyes briefly and summoned his second power, the one he had only found out about recently. Slowly, the darkness of the room faded to a soft and comforting dimness. It was a difficult exercise because it had him make light out of nothing, contrary to what he usually did. When he helped Luna scaring kids with his light tricks, all he had to do was block or filter the light coming from the windows, not a big deal for someone able to create force fields. Making sure his light was stable, he opened his eyes again. Lovino was looking around with an adorably surprised expression. He had stopped trembling and Antonio patted himself on the back for his deed.

"You better not throw up on me," he joked in a whisper.

Lovino chuckled and Antonio raised an eyebrow, less surprised by the fact that he could still understand English than by him thinking his joke was funny. The younger boy looked up and stared at him, the remains of his smile dying on his lips. Antonio stared as well, still holding the light. He examined his skin, cheeks, nose, brow, the curve of his jaw, the shape of his round, slightly opened lips… From so up close, he could only admit Lovino was a very pretty boy. He had already noticed before but right now, he could admire to his heart's content this beauty so typically Italian it seemed to have jumped out of a renaissance painting. The light started to fluctuate and he tried his best to stabilize it again. Antonio felt his heart beat a lot louder than usual. His head was spinning and he was way too conscious of the body he was wrapped around.

Lovino suddenly looked away shyly and wiggled a little. Antonio opened his mouth to ask what was wrong but the younger boy was faster. Softly, he wiggled his way up to his face and touched the Spaniard's lips with his own, tasting like alcohol and grape. The light went out abruptly. Antonio was too surprised to react or focus on anything. He just squinted at the Italian who seemed to enjoy the experience. There was nothing sensual, nothing erotic, they just stayed like that, lips touching, feeling the other's breath on their face. And yet it was strangely soft and sweet, like laced with tenderness.

Lovino broke the kiss and, like he had been waiting for nothing else, closed his eyes and fell asleep in the Spaniard's arms. Antonio didn't move, his eyes round with surprise, blinking like an owl in headlights.

Lovino had kissed him. Ok, fine, he could understand that. He was so drunk he probably had no idea of what was going on and who he was. But there was one detail. A tiny and very annoying detail.

He had liked it.

Not even just a little. He had felt the same thing he felt when Bella kissed him. To the power three. At least. And it had only been a tiny peck on the lips. He wouldn't dare imagine what he would have felt if the Italian had added tongue, had snuggled closer, had wrapped his arms around his neck, whining as he would have kissed him back with his Spanish expertise… Wait, what was he thinking right now? What was wrong with him? He was with Bella, damn it! And he had never really felt anything for men! Why was he reacting this way to Lovino? Okay, the Italian boy was handsome, that was undeniable, anyone could say the same. And yes, he thought his brooding personality was absolutely adorable, but who didn't like shyness? And okay, he would think about him a lot, but that was only because he was moving, not having any friends, and Antonio wanted to comfort him and hug him and… Ok, he wasn't even believable anymore.

He shook his head. No, no, no, no, there had to be an explanation. He was in love with Bella, his Bella! He only wanted to be friends with Lovino, nothing more. It wasn't a crime to think a friend is cute, right? If he had enjoyed that kiss so much it was because… He was tired! Yes, that was it! He was overworking these days, that was a given, and it was late. His body just confused Lovino and Bella. There. That was it. Nothing more.

Nothing. More.

Lovino moved in his arms into a more comfortable position. Antonio looked down at him in the dark. Then he let out another sigh, smiled a little and relaxed. There was no need for such worries. All he had to do was get some rest and he would see things more clearly. He found a more comfortable position as well and closed his eyes. He was going to sleep for a few minutes. Just a few minutes. Then he would go back to the party and dance with Bella and forget anything happened.

"Sorry, Bella," he whispered right before dozing off.

He wasn't sure himself of why he was apologizing.


End file.
